Dennis v. Sparks et al., Dba Sidney a. Sparks, Trustee

Decided November 17, 1980. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-1186 · 449 U.S. 24 (1980) · Cited 1,661 times

Holding

The action against the private parties accused of conspiring with the judge is not subject to dismissal.

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.

• Pierson v. Ray · 386 U.S. 547 (1967)
• Bradley v. Fisher · 80 U.S. 335 (1872)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
• Stump v. Sparkman · 435 U.S. 349 (1978)
• O'Shea v. Littleton · 414 U.S. 488 (1974)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• United States v. Price · 383 U.S. 787 (1966)
• Supreme Court of Virginia v. Consumers Union of the United States, Inc. · 446 U.S. 719 (1980)
• Gravel v. United States · 408 U.S. 606 (1972)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• United States v. Nixon · 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
• Butz v. Economou · 438 U.S. 478 (1978)
• United States v. Classic · 313 U.S. 299 (1941)
• Screws v. United States · 325 U.S. 91 (1945)
• Williams v. United States · 341 U.S. 97 (1951)

Cited by

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

• National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Tarkanian · 488 U.S. 179 (1988)
• Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co. · 457 U.S. 922 (1982)
• Mireles v. Waco · 502 U.S. 9 (1991)
• Briscoe v. LaHue · 460 U.S. 325 (1983)
• Nixon v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
• Rehberg v. Paulk · 566 U.S. 356 (2012)
• Tower v. Glover · 467 U.S. 914 (1984)
• Lehman Ex Rel. Lehman v. Lycoming County Children's Services Agency · 458 U.S. 502 (1982)
• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1980). 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).