Boy Scouts of America and Monmouth Council, et al. v. James Dale

Decided June 28, 2000. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 99-699 · 530 U.S. 640 (2000) · Cited 525 times

Holding

Applying New Jersey's public accommodations law to require the Boy Scouts to admit Dale violates the Boy Scouts' First Amendment right of expressive association.

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.

• Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. · 515 U.S. 557 (1995)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Board of Directors of Rotary International v. Rotary Club of Duarte · 481 U.S. 537 (1987)
• Bowers v. Hardwick · 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Loving v. Virginia · 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
• New York State Club Assn., Inc. v. City of New York · 487 U.S. 1 (1988)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Romer v. Evans · 517 U.S. 620 (1996)
• Whitney v. California · 274 U.S. 357 (1927)
• New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann · 285 U.S. 262 (1932)
• Democratic Party of United States v. Wisconsin Ex Rel. La Follette · 450 U.S. 107 (1981)
• Railway Mail Assn. v. Corsi · 326 U.S. 88 (1945)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• Wooley v. Maynard · 430 U.S. 705 (1977)
• Mathews v. Lucas · 427 U.S. 495 (1976)
• City of Dallas v. Stanglin · 490 U.S. 19 (1989)
• Doe v. Commonwealth's Attorney for Richmond · 425 U.S. 901 (1976)

Cited by

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

• Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party · 552 U.S. 442 (2008)
• 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis · 600 U.S. 570 (2023)
• Christian Legal Soc. Chapter of Univ. of Cal., Hastings College of Law v. Martinez · 561 U.S. 661 (2010)
• Davenport v. Washington Education Ass'n · 551 U.S. 177 (2007)
• Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. · 547 U.S. 47 (2006)
• Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n · 584 U.S. 617 (2018)
• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue · 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
• Good News Club v. Milford Central School · 533 U.S. 98 (2001)
• Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton · 606 U.S. 461 (2025)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 565 U.S. 171 (2012)
• Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Assn. · 544 U.S. 550 (2005)
• Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta · 594 U.S. 595 (2021)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)

Official text

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

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William Hubbs Rehnquist’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). 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).