County of Sacramento, et al. v. Teri Lewis and Thomas Lewis, Personal Representatives of the Estate of Philip Lewis, Deceased

Decided May 26, 1998. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 96-1337 · 523 U.S. 833 (1998) · Cited 6,212 times

Holding

A police officer does not violate substantive due process by causing death through deliberate or reckless indifference to life in a highspeed automobile chase aimed at apprehending a suspected offender.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Washington v. Glucksberg · 521 U.S. 702 (1997)
• Collins v. City of Harker Heights · 503 U.S. 115 (1992)
• Graham v. Connor · 490 U.S. 386 (1989)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Whitley v. Albers · 475 U.S. 312 (1986)
• Siegert v. Gilley · 500 U.S. 226 (1991)
• Rochin v. California · 342 U.S. 165 (1952)
• Albright v. Oliver · 510 U.S. 266 (1994)
• DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services · 489 U.S. 189 (1989)
• California v. Hodari D. · 499 U.S. 621 (1991)
• Davidson v. Cannon · 474 U.S. 344 (1986)
• City of Revere v. Massachusetts General Hospital · 463 U.S. 239 (1983)
• Carlisle v. United States · 517 U.S. 416 (1996)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• City of Canton v. Harris · 489 U.S. 378 (1989)
• United States v. Salerno · 481 U.S. 739 (1987)
• Paul v. Davis · 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
• Youngberg v. Romeo Ex Rel. Romeo · 457 U.S. 307 (1982)
• Brower Ex Rel. Estate of Caldwell v. County of Inyo · 489 U.S. 593 (1989)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Wolff v. McDonnell · 418 U.S. 539 (1974)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• Mapp v. Ohio · 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Zinermon v. Burch · 494 U.S. 113 (1990)
• Herrera v. Collins · 506 U.S. 390 (1993)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• United States v. Lanier · 520 U.S. 259 (1997)

Cited by

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

• Kingsley v. Hendrickson · 576 U.S. 389 (2015)
• Scott v. Harris · 550 U.S. 372 (2007)
• Chavez v. Martinez · 538 U.S. 760 (2003)
• Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co., Inc. · 556 U.S. 868 (2009)
• Brendlin v. California · 551 U.S. 249 (2007)
• Plumhoff v. Rickard · 572 U.S. 765 (2014)
• Wilkie v. Robbins · 551 U.S. 537 (2007)
• Morse v. Frederick · 551 U.S. 393 (2007)
• Torres v. Madrid · 592 U.S. 306 (2021)
• Los Angeles County, California v. Rettele · 550 U.S. 609 (2007)
• Pearson v. Callahan · 555 U.S. 223 (2009)
• Rosales-Mireles v. United States · 585 U.S. 129 (2018)
• Brosseau v. Haugen · 543 U.S. 194 (2004)
• Wilson v. Layne · 526 U.S. 603 (1999)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• Lingle v. Chevron U. S. A. Inc. · 544 U.S. 528 (2005)
• City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
• Conn v. Gabbert · 526 U.S. 286 (1999)
• District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne · 557 U.S. 52 (2009)
• McDonough v. Smith · 588 U.S. 109 (2019)
• City of Cuyahoga Falls v. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation · 538 U.S. 188 (2003)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Assn. of America, Ltd. · 601 U.S. 416 (2024)

Official text

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

Explore from here

David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1998). 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).