Baker v. McCollan

Decided June 26, 1979. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-752 · 443 U.S. 137 (1979) · Cited 5,659 times

Holding

Respondent failed to satisfy 1983's threshold requirement that the plaintiff be deprived of a right "secured by the Constitution and laws," and hence had no claim cognizable under 1983.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Procunier v. Navarette · 434 U.S. 555 (1978)
• Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• Neil v. Biggers · 409 U.S. 188 (1972)
• Rochin v. California · 342 U.S. 165 (1952)
• Stack v. Boyle · 342 U.S. 1 (1951)
• Simmons v. United States · 390 U.S. 377 (1968)
• Patterson v. New York · 432 U.S. 197 (1977)
• Foster v. California · 394 U.S. 440 (1969)
• Schilb v. Kuebel · 404 U.S. 357 (1971)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Terry v. Ohio · 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Barker v. Wingo · 407 U.S. 514 (1972)
• United States v. Wade · 388 U.S. 218 (1967)
• Spinelli v. United States · 393 U.S. 410 (1969)
• Rizzo v. Goode · 423 U.S. 362 (1976)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Delaware v. Prouse · 440 U.S. 648 (1979)
• United States v. Marion · 404 U.S. 307 (1971)
• Dunaway v. New York · 442 U.S. 200 (1979)
• Brewer v. Williams · 430 U.S. 387 (1977)
• Wood v. Strickland · 420 U.S. 308 (1975)
• Palko v. Connecticut · 302 U.S. 319 (1937)
• County Court of Ulster Cty. v. Allen · 442 U.S. 140 (1979)
• Poe v. Ullman · 367 U.S. 497 (1961)
• Turner v. Pennsylvania · 338 U.S. 62 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Manuel v. City of Joliet · 580 U.S. 357 (2017)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Albright v. Oliver · 510 U.S. 266 (1994)
• Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
• City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
• Schall v. Martin · 467 U.S. 253 (1984)
• Harlow v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
• Graham v. Connor · 490 U.S. 386 (1989)
• Malley v. Briggs · 475 U.S. 335 (1986)
• DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services · 489 U.S. 189 (1989)
• Tennessee v. Garner · 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
• City of Oklahoma v. Tuttle · 471 U.S. 808 (1985)
• Collins v. City of Harker Heights · 503 U.S. 115 (1992)
• Davidson v. Cannon · 474 U.S. 344 (1986)
• Hartman v. Moore · 547 U.S. 250 (2006)
• Federal Deposit Insurance v. Mallen · 486 U.S. 230 (1988)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). 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).