Brandon et al. v. Holt, Director of Police for the City of Memphis, et al.
Decided January 21, 1985. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 83-1622 · 469 U.S. 464 (1985) · Cited 1,538 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 8–1.
Majority · 7
- John Paul Stevens · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 1
- Warren Earl Burger · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 1
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
- Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
- Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
- Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
- City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc. · 453 U.S. 247 (1981)
- Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
- Duignan v. United States · 274 U.S. 195 (1927)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Kentucky v. Graham · 473 U.S. 159 (1985)
- Bender v. Williamsport Area School District · 475 U.S. 534 (1986)
- Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
- Mitchell v. Forsyth · 472 U.S. 511 (1985)
- City of Oklahoma v. Tuttle · 471 U.S. 808 (1985)
- Regents of the University of Michigan v. Ewing · 474 U.S. 214 (1985)
- McMillian v. Monroe County · 520 U.S. 781 (1997)
- Karcher v. May · 484 U.S. 72 (1987)
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).