Supreme Court of the United States / October Term 1999

J. Daniel Kimel, Jr., et al. v. Florida Board of Regents, et al.

Decided January 11, 2000. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-791 · 528 U.S. 62 (2000) · Cited 1,587 times

Holding

Although the ADEA does contain a clear statement of Congress’ intent to abrogate the States’ immunity, that abrogation exceeded Congress’ authority under § 5 of the Fourteenth 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 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.

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
Vance v. Bradley · 440 U.S. 93 (1979)
Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell · 472 U.S. 400 (1985)
Employees of Department of Public Health v. Department of Public Health · 411 U.S. 279 (1973)
Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
Dellmuth v. Muth · 491 U.S. 223 (1989)
Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming · 460 U.S. 226 (1983)
Kennecott Copper Corp. v. State Tax Commission · 327 U.S. 573 (1946)
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. v. Sperling · 493 U.S. 165 (1989)
McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co. · 513 U.S. 352 (1995)
Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins · 507 U.S. 604 (1993)
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
South Carolina v. Katzenbach · 383 U.S. 301 (1966)

Cited by

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

Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
Tennessee v. Lane · 541 U.S. 509 (2004)
Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz · 601 U.S. 42 (2024)
Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland · 566 U.S. 30 (2012)
Allen v. Cooper · 589 U.S. 248 (2020)
Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for P. R. v. Centro De Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. · 598 U.S. 339 (2023)
United States v. Morrison · 529 U.S. 598 (2000)
Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community · 572 U.S. 782 (2014)
Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota · 534 U.S. 533 (2002)
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
United States v. Georgia · 546 U.S. 151 (2006)
Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority · 535 U.S. 743 (2002)
Verizon Maryland Inc. v. Public Service Commission of Maryland · 535 U.S. 635 (2002)
Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. · 529 U.S. 861 (2000)
Horne v. Flores · 557 U.S. 433 (2009)
Central Virginia Community College v. Katz · 546 U.S. 356 (2006)
Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Hood · 541 U.S. 440 (2004)
Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder · 557 U.S. 193 (2009)
Tuan Anh Nguyen v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 533 U.S. 53 (2001)
Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety · 597 U.S. 580 (2022)
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin · 599 U.S. 382 (2023)

Official text

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

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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).