Harold F. Rice v. Benjamin J. Cayetano, Governor of Hawaii

Decided February 23, 2000. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-818 · 528 U.S. 495 (2000) · Cited 194 times

Holding

Hawaii’s denial of Rice’s right to vote in OHA trustee elections violates the Fifteenth Amendment.

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 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.

• Morton v. Mancari · 417 U.S. 535 (1974)
• Guinn v. United States · 238 U.S. 347 (1915)
• Terry v. Adams · 345 U.S. 461 (1953)
• United States v. Kagama · 118 U.S. 375 (1886)
• Smith v. Allwright · 321 U.S. 649 (1944)
• United States v. Sandoval · 231 U.S. 28 (1913)
• Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez · 436 U.S. 49 (1978)
• Gomillion v. Lightfoot · 364 U.S. 339 (1960)
• South Carolina v. Katzenbach · 383 U.S. 301 (1966)
• Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff · 467 U.S. 229 (1984)
• Washington v. Confederated Bands & Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation · 439 U.S. 463 (1979)
• United States v. Antelope · 430 U.S. 641 (1977)
• Hodel v. Irving · 481 U.S. 704 (1987)
• Delaware Tribal Business Committee v. Weeks · 430 U.S. 73 (1977)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• United States v. Wheeler · 435 U.S. 313 (1978)
• Kaiser Aetna v. United States · 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
• Hirabayashi v. United States · 320 U.S. 81 (1943)
• Saint Francis College v. Al-Khazraji · 481 U.S. 604 (1987)
• Moe v. Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation · 425 U.S. 463 (1976)
• Washington v. Washington State Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Assn. · 443 U.S. 658 (1979)
• Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe · 435 U.S. 191 (1978)
• Neal v. Delaware · 103 U.S. 370 (1881)
• Lane v. Wilson · 307 U.S. 268 (1939)
• Louisiana v. United States · 380 U.S. 145 (1965)
• United States v. REESE · 92 U.S. 214 (1876)
• Fisher v. District Court of the Sixteenth Judicial District of Montana · 424 U.S. 382 (1976)
• Salyer Land Co. v. Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District · 410 U.S. 719 (1973)
• United States v. Celestine · 215 U.S. 278 (1909)
• United States v. John · 437 U.S. 634 (1978)

Cited by

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

• Shelby County v. Holder · 570 U.S. 529 (2013)
• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)
• Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin · 570 U.S. 297 (2013)
• Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder · 557 U.S. 193 (2009)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)

Official text

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

Explore from here

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

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). 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).