Ingraham et al. v. Wright et al.

Decided April 19, 1977. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-6527 · 430 U.S. 651 (1977) · Cited 2,975 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 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.

• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Trop v. Dulles · 356 U.S. 86 (1958)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Gregg v. Georgia · 428 U.S. 153 (1976)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
• United States v. Watson · 423 U.S. 411 (1976)
• Powell v. Texas · 392 U.S. 514 (1968)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Furman v. Georgia · 408 U.S. 238 (1972)
• Meachum v. Fano · 427 U.S. 215 (1976)
• Robinson v. California · 370 U.S. 660 (1962)
• Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez · 372 U.S. 144 (1963)
• Arnett v. Kennedy · 416 U.S. 134 (1974)
• Greene v. McElroy · 360 U.S. 474 (1959)
• Wolff v. McDonnell · 418 U.S. 539 (1974)
• Paul v. Davis · 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
• Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath · 341 U.S. 123 (1951)
• Fong Yue Ting v. United States · 149 U.S. 698 (1893)
• United States v. Lovett · 328 U.S. 303 (1946)
• Louisiana Ex Rel. Francis v. Resweber · 329 U.S. 459 (1947)
• United States v. Barnett · 376 U.S. 681 (1964)
• Uphaus v. Wyman · 360 U.S. 72 (1959)
• Terry v. Ohio · 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
• Schmerber v. California · 384 U.S. 757 (1966)
• In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)

Cited by

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

• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• New Jersey v. T. L. O. · 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• Albright v. Oliver · 510 U.S. 266 (1994)
• Davidson v. Cannon · 474 U.S. 344 (1986)
• Washington v. Harper · 494 U.S. 210 (1990)
• Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton · 515 U.S. 646 (1995)
• Sandin v. Conner · 515 U.S. 472 (1995)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Whitley v. Albers · 475 U.S. 312 (1986)
• Harmelin v. Michigan · 501 U.S. 957 (1991)
• Graham v. Connor · 490 U.S. 386 (1989)
• Rhodes v. Chapman · 452 U.S. 337 (1981)
• Kingsley v. Hendrickson · 576 U.S. 389 (2015)
• Zinermon v. Burch · 494 U.S. 113 (1990)
• Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co. · 455 U.S. 422 (1982)
• Rummel v. Estelle · 445 U.S. 263 (1980)
• City of Revere v. Massachusetts General Hospital · 463 U.S. 239 (1983)
• Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division v. Craft · 436 U.S. 1 (1978)
• Cleavinger v. Saxner · 474 U.S. 193 (1985)
• Timbs v. Indiana · 586 U.S. 146 (2019)
• Kerry v. Din · 576 U.S. 86 (2015)
• Hudson v. Palmer · 468 U.S. 517 (1984)
• DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services · 489 U.S. 189 (1989)
• Solem v. Helm · 463 U.S. 277 (1983)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• Schall v. Martin · 467 U.S. 253 (1984)
• City of Grants Pass v. Johnson · 603 U.S. 520 (2024)
• West v. Atkins · 487 U.S. 42 (1988)

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).