Kerr et al. v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California et al.

Decided June 14, 1976. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-1023 · 426 U.S. 394 (1976) · Cited 2,854 times

Holding

In the circumstances of this case and particularly since less extreme alternatives for modification of the challenged discovery orders were available issuance of the writ of mandamus is inappropriate.

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 8–0.

“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.

• United States v. Reynolds · 345 U.S. 1 (1953)
• Bankers Life & Casualty Co. v. Holland · 346 U.S. 379 (1953)
• Roche v. Evaporated Milk Assn. · 319 U.S. 21 (1943)
• Ex Parte Fahey · 332 U.S. 258 (1947)
• United States v. Nixon · 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
• Schlagenhauf v. Holder · 379 U.S. 104 (1964)
• Will v. United States · 389 U.S. 90 (1967)
• Parr v. United States · 351 U.S. 513 (1956)

Cited by

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

• Cheney v. United States District Court for District of Columbia · 542 U.S. 367 (2004)
• Thryv, Inc. v. Click-To-Call Technologies, LP · 590 U.S. 45 (2020)
• Mallard v. United States Dist. Court for Southern Dist. of Iowa · 490 U.S. 296 (1989)
• Allied Chemical Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc. · 449 U.S. 33 (1980)
• Stringfellow v. Concerned Neighbors in Action · 480 U.S. 370 (1987)
• Heckler v. Ringer · 466 U.S. 602 (1984)
• Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. v. Mayacamas Corp. · 485 U.S. 271 (1988)
• Webster v. Doe · 486 U.S. 592 (1988)
• United States v. Zolin · 491 U.S. 554 (1989)
• Pulliam v. Allen · 466 U.S. 522 (1984)
• Will v. Calvert Fire Insurance · 437 U.S. 655 (1978)
• Helstoski v. Meanor · 442 U.S. 500 (1979)
• In Re Sindram · 498 U.S. 177 (1991)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Thurgood Marshall’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1976). 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).