Jason Richards, et al. v. Jefferson County, Alabama, et al.

Decided June 10, 1996. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-386 · 517 U.S. 793 (1996) · Cited 510 times

Holding

Because petitioners received neither notice of, nor sufficient representation in, the Bedingfield litigation, that adjudication, as a matter of federal due process, may not bind them and thus cannot bar them from challenging an allegedly unconstitutional deprivation of their property.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Hansberry v. Lee · 311 U.S. 32 (1940)
• Martin v. Wilks · 490 U.S. 755 (1989)
• Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. · 339 U.S. 306 (1950)
• Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts · 472 U.S. 797 (1985)
• Postal Telegraph Cable Co. v. City of Newport · 247 U.S. 464 (1918)
• Montana v. United States · 440 U.S. 147 (1979)
• Brinkerhoff-Faris Trust & Savings Co. v. Hill · 281 U.S. 673 (1930)
• Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin · 417 U.S. 156 (1974)
• Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co. · 455 U.S. 422 (1982)
• Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation · 402 U.S. 313 (1971)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Bildisco & Bildisco · 465 U.S. 513 (1984)
• Tulsa Professional Collection Services, Inc. v. Pope · 485 U.S. 478 (1988)
• Schroeder v. City of New York · 371 U.S. 208 (1962)
• Heiser v. Woodruff · 327 U.S. 726 (1946)
• Coe v. Armour Fertilizer Works · 237 U.S. 413 (1915)
• Chase National Bank v. City of Norwalk · 291 U.S. 431 (1934)
• Simon v. Craft · 182 U.S. 427 (1901)
• Town of Lockport v. Citizens for Community Action at the Local Level, Inc. · 430 U.S. 259 (1977)
• Penn-Central Merger & N & W Inclusion Cases · 389 U.S. 486 (1968)
• Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Schmidt · 177 U.S. 230 (1900)

Cited by

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

• Taylor v. Sturgell · 553 U.S. 880 (2008)
• Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp. · 527 U.S. 815 (1999)
• Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors · 603 U.S. 799 (2024)

Official text

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

Explore from here

John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). 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).