Kirchberg v. Feenstra et al.
Decided March 23, 1981. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 79-1388 · 450 U.S. 455 (1981) · Cited 170 times
We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.
How the Justices voted
Decided 9–0.
Majority · 7
- Thurgood Marshall · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 2
- Potter Stewart · filed a concurring opinion
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
“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.
- Wengler v. Druggists Mutual Insurance · 446 U.S. 142 (1980)
- Trimble v. Gordon · 430 U.S. 762 (1977)
- Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
- Taylor v. Louisiana · 419 U.S. 522 (1975)
- Personnel Administrator of Mass. v. Feeney · 442 U.S. 256 (1979)
- Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
- Frontiero v. Richardson · 411 U.S. 677 (1973)
- Orr v. Orr · 440 U.S. 268 (1979)
- Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County · 450 U.S. 464 (1981)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
- Obergefell v. Hodges · 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
- Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan · 458 U.S. 718 (1982)
- Tuan Anh Nguyen v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 533 U.S. 53 (2001)
- United States v. Virginia · 518 U.S. 515 (1996)
- Rostker v. Goldberg · 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
- Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
- Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. · 510 U.S. 17 (1993)
- JEB v. Alabama Ex Rel. TB · 511 U.S. 127 (1994)
- Heckler v. Mathews · 465 U.S. 728 (1984)
- United States v. Skrmetti · 605 U.S. 495 (2025)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).