Bender et al. v. Williamsport Area School District et al.

Decided March 25, 1986. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-773 · 475 U.S. 534 (1986) · Cited 2,256 times

Holding

Respondent had no standing to appeal, and therefore the Court of Appeals had no jurisdiction to hear his appeal.

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.

• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Kentucky v. Graham · 473 U.S. 159 (1985)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Brandon v. Holt · 469 U.S. 464 (1985)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Coleman v. Miller · 307 U.S. 433 (1939)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Thomas v. Board of Trustees of the Ohio State University · 195 U.S. 207 (1904)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Townsend v. Sain · 372 U.S. 293 (1963)
• McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp. · 298 U.S. 178 (1936)
• Saint Paul Mercury Indemnity Co. v. Red Cab Co. · 303 U.S. 283 (1938)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Sumner v. Mata · 449 U.S. 539 (1981)
• Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Mottley · 211 U.S. 149 (1908)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood · 441 U.S. 91 (1979)
• Mansfield, Coldwater & Lake Michigan Railway Co. v. Swan · 111 U.S. 379 (1884)
• Juidice v. Vail · 430 U.S. 327 (1977)
• England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners · 375 U.S. 411 (1964)
• Engel v. Vitale · 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
• City of Kenosha v. Bruno · 412 U.S. 507 (1973)
• Mitchell v. Maurer · 293 U.S. 237 (1934)
• Board of Ed., Island Trees Union Free School Dist. No. 26 v. Pico · 457 U.S. 853 (1982)
• Thomson v. Gaskill · 315 U.S. 442 (1942)
• Great Southern Fire Proof Hotel Company v. Jones · 177 U.S. 449 (1899)
• Clark v. Paul Gray, Inc. · 306 U.S. 583 (1939)

Cited by

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

• FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 493 U.S. 215 (1990)
• Raines v. Byrd · 521 U.S. 811 (1997)
• Renne v. Geary · 501 U.S. 312 (1991)
• Summers v. Earth Island Institute · 555 U.S. 488 (2009)
• Board of Ed. of Westside Community Schools (Dist. 66) v. Mergens · 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
• Karcher v. May · 484 U.S. 72 (1987)
• Batson v. Kentucky · 476 U.S. 79 (1986)
• Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser · 478 U.S. 675 (1986)
• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
• Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America · 511 U.S. 375 (1994)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona · 520 U.S. 43 (1997)
• Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global Group, L. P. · 541 U.S. 567 (2004)
• Diamond v. Charles · 476 U.S. 54 (1986)
• Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc. · 484 U.S. 49 (1987)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler · 510 U.S. 249 (1994)
• Wyoming v. Oklahoma · 502 U.S. 437 (1992)
• Bowen v. Roy · 476 U.S. 693 (1986)
• United States Catholic Conference v. Abortion Rights Mobilization, Inc. · 487 U.S. 72 (1988)
• Cameron v. EMW Women's Surgical Center, P. S. C. · 595 U.S. 267 (2022)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).