City of Rome et al. v. United States et al.

Decided April 22, 1980. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-1840 · 446 U.S. 156 (1980) · Cited 419 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 6–3.

“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.

• South Carolina v. Katzenbach · 383 U.S. 301 (1966)
• United States v. Sheffield Bd. of Comm'rs · 435 U.S. 110 (1978)
• Oregon v. Mitchell · 400 U.S. 112 (1970)
• National League of Cities v. Usery · 426 U.S. 833 (1976)
• Katzenbach v. Morgan · 384 U.S. 641 (1966)
• Allen v. State Board of Elections · 393 U.S. 544 (1969)
• City of Richmond v. United States · 422 U.S. 358 (1975)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• Beer v. United States · 425 U.S. 130 (1976)
• Georgia v. United States · 411 U.S. 526 (1973)
• Civil Rights Cases · 109 U.S. 3 (1883)
• Perkins v. Matthews · 400 U.S. 379 (1971)
• Gaston County v. United States · 395 U.S. 285 (1969)
• Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
• Whitcomb v. Chavis · 403 U.S. 124 (1971)
• United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburgh, Inc. v. Carey · 430 U.S. 144 (1977)
• Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections · 360 U.S. 45 (1959)
• United States v. Nixon · 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Catholic Bishop · 440 U.S. 490 (1979)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Oregon v. Hass · 420 U.S. 714 (1975)
• Hicks v. Miranda · 422 U.S. 332 (1975)
• Gomillion v. Lightfoot · 364 U.S. 339 (1960)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States · 435 U.S. 679 (1978)
• United States v. Guest · 383 U.S. 745 (1966)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 418 U.S. 717 (1974)
• Houchins v. KQED, Inc. · 438 U.S. 1 (1978)
• Ex Parte Collett · 337 U.S. 55 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder · 557 U.S. 193 (2009)
• Shelby County v. Holder · 570 U.S. 529 (2013)
• Holder v. Hall · 512 U.S. 874 (1994)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Allen v. Milligan · 599 U.S. 1 (2023)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Thornburg v. Gingles · 478 U.S. 30 (1986)
• Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
• Bush v. Vera · 517 U.S. 952 (1996)
• Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
• Tennessee v. Lane · 541 U.S. 509 (2004)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Miller v. Johnson · 515 U.S. 900 (1995)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming · 460 U.S. 226 (1983)
• Chisom v. Roemer · 501 U.S. 380 (1991)
• Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board · 520 U.S. 471 (1997)
• McDaniel v. Sanchez · 452 U.S. 130 (1981)
• Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee · 594 U.S. 647 (2021)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Missouri v. Jenkins Ex Rel. Agyei · 491 U.S. 274 (1989)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• International Paper Co. v. Ouellette · 479 U.S. 481 (1987)
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
• City of Lockhart v. United States · 460 U.S. 125 (1983)
• Trump v. Anderson · 601 U.S. 100 (2024)

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).