Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Governor of California, et al., Appellants v. Marciano Plata et al.

Decided May 23, 2011. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 09-1233 · 563 U.S. 493 (2011) · Cited 531 times

Holding

When, to protect state secrets, a court dismisses a Government contractor’s prima facie valid affirmative defense to the Government’s allegations of contractual breach, the proper remedy is to leave the parties where they were on the day they filed suit.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Farmer v. Brennan · 511 U.S. 825 (1994)
• Anderson v. City of Bessemer City · 470 U.S. 564 (1985)
• Rhodes v. Chapman · 452 U.S. 337 (1981)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
• Lewis v. Casey · 518 U.S. 343 (1996)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Harrington v. Richter · 562 U.S. 86 (2011)
• Hudson v. Palmer · 468 U.S. 517 (1984)
• Turner v. Safley · 482 U.S. 78 (1987)
• Salve Regina College v. Russell · 499 U.S. 225 (1991)
• Board of Trustees of State Univ. of NY v. Fox · 492 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman · 433 U.S. 406 (1977)
• Gonzalez v. Automatic Employees Credit Union · 419 U.S. 90 (1974)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• United States v. United States Gypsum Co. · 333 U.S. 364 (1948)
• Helling v. McKinney · 509 U.S. 25 (1993)
• Roper v. Simmons · 543 U.S. 551 (2005)
• Atkins v. Virginia · 536 U.S. 304 (2002)
• Harris v. Reed · 489 U.S. 255 (1989)
• Cruz v. Beto · 405 U.S. 319 (1972)
• Trop v. Dulles · 356 U.S. 86 (1958)
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education · 402 U.S. 1 (1971)
• United States v. Armstrong · 517 U.S. 456 (1996)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Swarthout v. Cooke · 562 U.S. 216 (2011)
• International Union, United Mine Workers v. Bagwell · 512 U.S. 821 (1994)
• Lilly v. Virginia · 527 U.S. 116 (1999)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• United States v. Chemical Foundation, Inc. · 272 U.S. 1 (1926)
• Bowen v. Michigan Academy of Family Physicians · 476 U.S. 667 (1986)

Cited by

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

• Davis v. Ayala · 576 U.S. 257 (2015)
• Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington · 566 U.S. 318 (2012)

Official text

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

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Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2011). 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).