Craig et al. v. Boren, Governor of Oklahoma, et al.

Decided December 20, 1976. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-628 · 429 U.S. 190 (1976) · Cited 2,156 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.

• Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
• Stanton v. Stanton · 421 U.S. 7 (1975)
• Frontiero v. Richardson · 411 U.S. 677 (1973)
• Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
• Kahn v. Shevin · 416 U.S. 351 (1974)
• Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Barrows v. Jackson · 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
• Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld · 420 U.S. 636 (1975)
• California v. LaRue · 409 U.S. 109 (1972)
• Schlesinger v. Ballard · 419 U.S. 498 (1975)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Sullivan v. Little Hunting Park, Inc. · 396 U.S. 229 (1969)
• Hostetter v. Idlewild Bon Voyage Liquor Corp. · 377 U.S. 324 (1964)
• State Bd. of Equalization of Cal. v. Young's Market Co. · 299 U.S. 59 (1936)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur · 414 U.S. 632 (1974)
• Vlandis v. Kline · 412 U.S. 441 (1973)
• Richardson v. Belcher · 404 U.S. 78 (1971)
• Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. v. Hostetter · 384 U.S. 35 (1966)
• Goesaert v. Cleary · 335 U.S. 464 (1948)
• Mahoney v. Joseph Triner Corp. · 304 U.S. 401 (1938)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)

Cited by

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

• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
• Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Assn. v. Thomas · 588 U.S. 504 (2019)
• Rostker v. Goldberg · 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
• Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County · 450 U.S. 464 (1981)
• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• Tuan Anh Nguyen v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 533 U.S. 53 (2001)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
• United States v. Skrmetti · 605 U.S. 495 (2025)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Orr v. Orr · 440 U.S. 268 (1979)
• Kowalski v. Tesmer · 543 U.S. 125 (2004)
• Califano v. Goldfarb · 430 U.S. 199 (1977)
• Personnel Administrator of Mass. v. Feeney · 442 U.S. 256 (1979)
• City of Revere v. Massachusetts General Hospital · 463 U.S. 239 (1983)
• Vance v. Bradley · 440 U.S. 93 (1979)
• JEB v. Alabama Ex Rel. TB · 511 U.S. 127 (1994)
• Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan · 458 U.S. 718 (1982)
• KIRCHBERG v. FEENSTRA Et Al. · 450 U.S. 455 (1981)
• Powers v. Ohio · 499 U.S. 400 (1991)
• Bostock v. Clayton County · 590 U.S. 644 (2020)
• Zablocki v. Redhail · 434 U.S. 374 (1978)
• Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform · 431 U.S. 816 (1977)
• United States v. Virginia · 518 U.S. 515 (1996)
• Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc. · 554 U.S. 269 (2008)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island · 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
• Granholm v. Heald · 544 U.S. 460 (2005)

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).