Atascadero State Hospital et al. v. Scanlon

Decided June 28, 1985. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-351 · 473 U.S. 234 (1985) · Cited 1,877 times

Holding

Respondent's action is proscribed by the Eleventh Amendment.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
• Employees of Department of Public Health v. Department of Public Health · 411 U.S. 279 (1973)
• Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. Florida Nursing Home Ass'n · 450 U.S. 147 (1981)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• Ex Parte State of New York, No. 1 · 256 U.S. 490 (1921)
• Quern v. Jordan · 440 U.S. 332 (1979)
• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority · 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
• Alexander v. Choate · 469 U.S. 287 (1985)
• Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Great Northern Life Insurance Co. v. Read · 322 U.S. 47 (1944)
• Smith v. Reeves · 178 U.S. 436 (1900)
• National League of Cities v. Usery · 426 U.S. 833 (1976)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Principality of Monaco v. Mississippi · 292 U.S. 313 (1934)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Stone v. Powell · 428 U.S. 465 (1976)
• Alabama v. Pugh · 438 U.S. 781 (1978)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
• Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
• American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Finn · 341 U.S. 6 (1951)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• Procunier v. Navarette · 434 U.S. 555 (1978)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• Doremus v. Board of Ed. of Hawthorne · 342 U.S. 429 (1952)
• United States v. Mississippi · 380 U.S. 128 (1965)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Dellmuth v. Muth · 491 U.S. 223 (1989)
• Green v. Mansour · 474 U.S. 64 (1985)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. v. Feeney · 495 U.S. 299 (1990)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)
• College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Bond v. United States · 572 U.S. 844 (2014)
• Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission · 502 U.S. 197 (1991)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• McKesson Corp. v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Fla. Dept. of Business Regulation · 496 U.S. 18 (1990)
• Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota · 534 U.S. 533 (2002)
• Papasan v. Allain · 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation · 513 U.S. 30 (1994)
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
• Hoffman v. Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance · 492 U.S. 96 (1989)
• Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc. · 570 U.S. 1 (2013)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr · 533 U.S. 289 (2001)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Lane v. Pena · 518 U.S. 187 (1996)
• Missouri v. Jenkins Ex Rel. Agyei · 491 U.S. 274 (1989)
• Lapides v. Board of Regents of Univ. System of Ga. · 535 U.S. 613 (2002)
• Wisconsin Department of Corrections v. Schacht · 524 U.S. 381 (1998)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co. · 499 U.S. 244 (1991)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).