Kelly, Connecticut Chief State'S Attorney, et al. v. Robinson

Decided November 12, 1986. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-1033 · 479 U.S. 36 (1986) · Cited 1,318 times

Holding

Section 523(a)(7) preserves from discharge in Chapter 7 any condition a state criminal court imposes as part of a criminal sentence.

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.

• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Midlantic National Bank v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 474 U.S. 494 (1986)
• Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores · 421 U.S. 723 (1975)
• Perez v. Ledesma · 401 U.S. 82 (1971)
• Mastro Plastics Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 350 U.S. 270 (1956)
• Offshore Logistics, Inc. v. Tallentire · 477 U.S. 207 (1986)
• Bank of Marin v. England · 385 U.S. 99 (1966)
• Ohio v. Kovacs · 469 U.S. 274 (1985)
• United States v. Heirs of Boisdoré · 49 U.S. 113 (1849)
• McCaughn v. Hershey Chocolate Co. · 283 U.S. 488 (1931)

Cited by

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

• Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare v. Davenport · 495 U.S. 552 (1990)
• United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc. · 489 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Hartford Underwriters Insurance v. Union Planters Bank, N. A. · 530 U.S. 1 (2000)
• Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media · 588 U.S. 427 (2019)
• Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp. · 580 U.S. 451 (2017)
• Dewsnup v. Timm · 502 U.S. 410 (1992)
• BFP v. Resolution Trust Corporation · 511 U.S. 531 (1994)
• Grogan v. Garner · 498 U.S. 279 (1991)
• Pilot Life Insurance v. Dedeaux · 481 U.S. 41 (1987)
• United Sav. Assn. of Tex. v. Timbers of Inwood Forest Associates, Ltd. · 484 U.S. 365 (1988)
• Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams · 532 U.S. 105 (2001)
• K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. · 486 U.S. 281 (1988)
• Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co. · 482 U.S. 656 (1987)
• United States v. Hohri · 482 U.S. 64 (1987)
• San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. United States Olympic Committee · 483 U.S. 522 (1987)
• Hoffman v. Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance · 492 U.S. 96 (1989)
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance v. Harris Trust & Savings Bank · 510 U.S. 86 (1993)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).