James Rowland, Former Director, California Department of Corrections, et al. v. California Men'S Colony, Unit II Men'S Advisory Council
Decided January 12, 1993. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 91-1188 · 506 U.S. 194 (1993) · Cited 2,320 times
Holding
Only a natural person may qualify for treatment in forma pauperis under § 1915.
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.
Majority · 5
- David Hackett Souter · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Antonin Scalia
- Byron Raymond White
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 4
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · filed a dissenting opinion
- Clarence Thomas · filed a dissenting opinion
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens
“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.
- Wilson v. Omaha Indian Tribe · 442 U.S. 653 (1979)
- Adkins v. E. I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. · 335 U.S. 331 (1948)
- Neitzke v. Williams · 490 U.S. 319 (1989)
- Mallard v. United States Dist. Court for Southern Dist. of Iowa · 490 U.S. 296 (1989)
- Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
- United States v. Kras · 409 U.S. 434 (1973)
- National Labor Relations Board v. Catholic Bishop · 440 U.S. 490 (1979)
- Green v. Bock Laundry MacHine Co. · 490 U.S. 504 (1989)
- McNary v. Haitian Refugee Center, Inc. · 498 U.S. 479 (1991)
- Towne v. Eisner · 245 U.S. 418 (1918)
- Commissioner v. Brown · 380 U.S. 563 (1965)
- United States v. Kirby · 74 U.S. 482 (1869)
- Trans Alaska Pipeline Rate Cases · 436 U.S. 631 (1978)
- Helvering v. Hammel · 311 U.S. 504 (1941)
- United States v. Katz · 271 U.S. 354 (1926)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co. · 534 U.S. 438 (2002)
- United States v. Hayes · 555 U.S. 415 (2009)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). 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).