Carlson, Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons, et al. v. Green, Administratrix

Decided April 22, 1980. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-1261 · 446 U.S. 14 (1980) · Cited 2,910 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.

• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Davis v. Passman · 442 U.S. 228 (1979)
• Robertson v. Wegmann · 436 U.S. 584 (1978)
• Butz v. Economou · 438 U.S. 478 (1978)
• Carey v. Piphus · 435 U.S. 247 (1978)
• J. I. Case Co. v. Borak · 377 U.S. 426 (1964)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• Bell v. Hood · 327 U.S. 678 (1946)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• The United States v. Hudson and Goodwin · 11 U.S. 32 (1812)
• Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
• Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc. · 421 U.S. 454 (1975)
• Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• Kovacs v. Cooper · 336 U.S. 77 (1949)
• Wheeldin v. Wheeler · 373 U.S. 647 (1963)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Scheuer v. Rhodes · 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Rochin v. California · 342 U.S. 165 (1952)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Shaffer v. Heitner · 433 U.S. 186 (1977)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education · 402 U.S. 1 (1971)
• Brown v. General Services Administration · 425 U.S. 820 (1976)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Organization · 441 U.S. 600 (1979)

Cited by

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

• Ziglar v. Abbasi · 582 U.S. 120 (2017)
• Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko · 534 U.S. 61 (2001)
• Wilkie v. Robbins · 551 U.S. 537 (2007)
• Bush v. Lucas · 462 U.S. 367 (1983)
• Hui v. Castaneda · 559 U.S. 799 (2010)
• City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc. · 453 U.S. 247 (1981)
• Egbert v. Boule · 596 U.S. 482 (2022)
• Schweiker v. Chilicky · 487 U.S. 412 (1988)
• Hernández v. Mesa · 589 U.S. 93 (2020)
• Smith v. Wade · 461 U.S. 30 (1983)
• McCarthy v. Madigan · 503 U.S. 140 (1992)
• PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin · 532 U.S. 661 (2001)
• Hernandez v. Mesa · 582 U.S. 548 (2017)
• Farmer v. Brennan · 511 U.S. 825 (1994)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• United States v. Stanley · 483 U.S. 669 (1987)
• Federal Deposit Insurance v. Meyer · 510 U.S. 471 (1994)
• Berkemer v. McCarty · 468 U.S. 420 (1984)
• Thornburgh v. Abbott · 490 U.S. 401 (1989)
• Hartman v. Moore · 547 U.S. 250 (2006)
• Chappell v. Wallace · 462 U.S. 296 (1983)
• Cleavinger v. Saxner · 474 U.S. 193 (1985)
• United States v. Fausto · 484 U.S. 439 (1988)
• Nixon v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
• Yee v. City of Escondido · 503 U.S. 519 (1992)
• City of Springfield v. Kibbe · 480 U.S. 257 (1987)
• Goldey v. Fields · 606 U.S. 942 (2025)
• Martin v. United States · 605 U.S. 395 (2025)

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).