Supreme Court of the United States / October Term 1992

Janet Reno, Attorney General, et al. v. Jenny Lisette Flores et al.

Decided March 23, 1993. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-905 · 507 U.S. 292 (1993) · Cited 2,046 times

Holding

The Nelsons’ action is not “based upon a commercial activity” within the meaning of the first clause of § 1605(a)(2), and the Act therefore confers no jurisdiction over their suit.

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.

Carlson v. Landon · 342 U.S. 524 (1952)
United States v. Salerno · 481 U.S. 739 (1987)
Schall v. Martin · 467 U.S. 253 (1984)
Immigration & Naturalization Service v. National Center for Immigrants' Rights, Inc. · 502 U.S. 183 (1991)
Foucha v. Louisiana · 504 U.S. 71 (1992)
United States v. Witkovich · 353 U.S. 194 (1957)
Heckler v. Campbell · 461 U.S. 458 (1983)
Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
Parham v. J. R. · 442 U.S. 584 (1979)
Korematsu v. United States · 323 U.S. 214 (1945)
Collins v. City of Harker Heights · 503 U.S. 115 (1992)
Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)
Bowers v. Hardwick · 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
Santosky v. Kramer · 455 U.S. 745 (1982)
DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services · 489 U.S. 189 (1989)
Bell v. Burson · 402 U.S. 535 (1971)
Ankenbrandt Ex Rel. L. R. v. Richards · 504 U.S. 689 (1992)
Mathews v. Diaz · 426 U.S. 67 (1976)
Breed v. Jones · 421 U.S. 519 (1975)
Fiallo Ex Rel. Rodriguez v. Bell · 430 U.S. 787 (1977)
Wong Wing v. United States · 163 U.S. 228 (1896)
In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
Snyder v. Massachusetts · 291 U.S. 97 (1934)
Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
Fare v. Michael C. · 442 U.S. 707 (1979)
Quilloin v. Walcott · 434 U.S. 246 (1978)

Cited by

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

Demore v. Kim · 538 U.S. 510 (2003)
Washington v. Glucksberg · 521 U.S. 702 (1997)
Kerry v. Din · 576 U.S. 86 (2015)
Obergefell v. Hodges · 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne · 557 U.S. 52 (2009)
Troxel v. Granville · 530 U.S. 57 (2000)
Kingsley v. Hendrickson · 576 U.S. 389 (2015)
McDonald v. City of Chicago · 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
Seling v. Young · 531 U.S. 250 (2001)
Chavez v. Martinez · 538 U.S. 760 (2003)
Bondi v. Vanderstok · 604 U.S. 458 (2025)
United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
Zadvydas v. Davis · 533 U.S. 678 (2001)
Harris v. United States · 536 U.S. 545 (2002)
Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
City of Chicago v. Morales · 527 U.S. 41 (1999)
Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe · 538 U.S. 1 (2003)
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker · 535 U.S. 125 (2002)
Trump v. J. G. G. · 604 U.S. 670 (2025)
Gutierrez v. Saenz · 606 U.S. 305 (2025)

Official text

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

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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).