Bowsher, Comptroller General of the United States v. Synar, Member of Congress, et al.

Decided July 7, 1986. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-1377 · 478 U.S. 714 (1986) · Cited 839 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“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.

• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Humphrey's v. United States · 295 U.S. 602 (1935)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• Nixon v. Administrator of General Services · 433 U.S. 425 (1977)
• Glidden Co. v. Zdanok · 370 U.S. 530 (1962)
• Springer v. Government of Philippine Islands · 277 U.S. 189 (1928)
• Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. · 458 U.S. 50 (1982)
• Yakus v. United States · 321 U.S. 414 (1944)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• Heckler v. Mathews · 465 U.S. 728 (1984)
• Wiener v. United States · 357 U.S. 349 (1958)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta · 458 U.S. 141 (1982)
• A. L. A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States · 295 U.S. 495 (1935)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Welsh v. United States · 398 U.S. 333 (1970)
• Batterton v. Francis · 432 U.S. 416 (1977)
• Schweiker v. Gray Panthers · 453 U.S. 34 (1981)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Champlin Rfg. Co. v. Corporation Commission of Oklahoma · 286 U.S. 210 (1932)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers v. Brock · 477 U.S. 274 (1986)
• United States v. California · 332 U.S. 19 (1947)
• Pennsylvania Bureau of Correction v. United States Marshals Service · 474 U.S. 34 (1985)
• Califano v. Westcott · 443 U.S. 76 (1979)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Ruberoid Co. · 343 U.S. 470 (1952)
• Secretary of the Interior v. California · 464 U.S. 312 (1984)
• Shurtleff v. United States · 189 U.S. 311 (1903)
• Delaware Tribal Business Committee v. Weeks · 430 U.S. 73 (1977)

Cited by

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

• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority v. Citizens for the Abatement of Aircraft Noise, Inc. · 501 U.S. 252 (1991)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Collins v. Yellen · 594 U.S. 220 (2021)
• Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · 591 U.S. 197 (2020)
• Clinton v. City of New York · 524 U.S. 417 (1998)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. SW Gen., Inc. · 580 U.S. 288 (2017)
• Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill · 587 U.S. 658 (2019)
• Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm'n · 576 U.S. 787 (2015)
• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC · 590 U.S. 448 (2020)
• Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. · 606 U.S. 748 (2025)
• Freytag v. Commissioner · 501 U.S. 868 (1991)
• Wellness Int'l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif · 575 U.S. 665 (2015)
• United States v. Providence Journal Co. · 485 U.S. 693 (1988)
• Haaland v. Brackeen · 599 U.S. 255 (2023)
• United States v. Arthrex, Inc. · 594 U.S. 1 (2021)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg · 492 U.S. 33 (1989)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. · 547 U.S. 47 (2006)
• Franklin v. Massachusetts · 505 U.S. 788 (1992)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority · 535 U.S. 743 (2002)
• Loving v. United States · 517 U.S. 748 (1996)
• Edmond v. United States · 520 U.S. 651 (1997)
• Zivotofsky Ex Rel. Zivotofsky v. Clinton · 566 U.S. 189 (2012)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).