Ellis B. Wright, Jr., Warden and Mary Sue Terry, Attorney General of Virginia v. Frank Robert West, Jr.

Decided June 19, 1992. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-542 · 505 U.S. 277 (1992) · Cited 1,604 times

Holding

The ordinance is facially invalid.

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

“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.

• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Jackson v. Virginia · 443 U.S. 307 (1979)
• Brown v. Allen · 344 U.S. 443 (1953)
• Butler v. McKellar · 494 U.S. 407 (1990)
• Salinger v. Loisel · 265 U.S. 224 (1924)
• Miller v. Fenton · 474 U.S. 104 (1985)
• Moore v. Dempsey · 261 U.S. 86 (1923)
• Cuyler v. Sullivan · 446 U.S. 335 (1980)
• Penry v. Lynaugh · 492 U.S. 302 (1989)
• Stringer v. Black · 503 U.S. 222 (1992)
• Sawyer v. Smith · 497 U.S. 227 (1990)
• Kuhlmann v. Wilson · 477 U.S. 436 (1986)
• Arizona v. Roberson · 486 U.S. 675 (1988)
• Strickland v. Washington · 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Irvin v. Dowd · 366 U.S. 717 (1961)
• Brewer v. Williams · 430 U.S. 387 (1977)
• Saffle v. Parks · 494 U.S. 484 (1990)
• Schneckloth v. Bustamonte · 412 U.S. 218 (1973)
• Neil v. Biggers · 409 U.S. 188 (1972)
• Edwards v. Arizona · 451 U.S. 477 (1981)
• Lockett v. Ohio · 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
• Townsend v. Sain · 372 U.S. 293 (1963)
• Stone v. Powell · 428 U.S. 465 (1976)
• Caldwell v. Mississippi · 472 U.S. 320 (1985)
• MacKey v. United States · 401 U.S. 667 (1971)
• Anderson v. Creighton · 483 U.S. 635 (1987)
• Mapp v. Ohio · 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
• Fay v. Noia · 372 U.S. 391 (1963)
• Eddings v. Oklahoma · 455 U.S. 104 (1982)
• Collins v. Youngblood · 497 U.S. 37 (1990)

Cited by

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

• Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 362 (2000)
• Brecht v. Abrahamson · 507 U.S. 619 (1993)
• Chaidez v. United States · 568 U.S. 342 (2013)
• Graham v. Collins · 506 U.S. 461 (1993)
• Williams v. Pennsylvania · 579 U.S. 1 (2016)
• Carey v. Musladin · 549 U.S. 70 (2006)
• Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam · 591 U.S. 103 (2020)
• Brown v. Davenport · 596 U.S. 118 (2022)
• Edwards v. Vannoy · 593 U.S. 255 (2021)
• Reed v. Farley · 512 U.S. 339 (1994)
• Stewart v. Martinez-Villareal · 523 U.S. 637 (1998)
• Heck v. Humphrey · 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
• Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. · 530 U.S. 133 (2000)
• Yarborough v. Alvarado · 541 U.S. 652 (2004)
• Duncan v. Henry · 513 U.S. 364 (1995)
• Thompson v. Keohane · 516 U.S. 99 (1995)
• Gray v. Netherland · 518 U.S. 152 (1996)
• Withrow v. Williams · 507 U.S. 680 (1993)
• Beard v. Banks · 542 U.S. 406 (2004)
• Reynoldsville Casket Co. v. Hyde · 514 U.S. 749 (1995)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Clarence Thomas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). 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).