Kolender, Chief of Police of San Diego, et al. v. Lawson

Decided May 2, 1983. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1320 · 461 U.S. 352 (1983) · Cited 3,306 times

Holding

The statute, as drafted and as construed by the state court, is unconstitutionally vague on its face within the meaning of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to clarify what is contemplated by the requirement that a suspect provide a "credible and reliable" identification.

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.

• Terry v. Ohio · 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
• Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. · 455 U.S. 489 (1982)
• Smith v. Goguen · 415 U.S. 566 (1974)
• Parker v. Levy · 417 U.S. 733 (1974)
• Florida v. Royer · 460 U.S. 491 (1983)
• United States v. Brignoni-Ponce · 422 U.S. 873 (1975)
• Brown v. Texas · 443 U.S. 47 (1979)
• Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville · 405 U.S. 156 (1972)
• Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham · 382 U.S. 87 (1965)
• Sibron v. New York · 392 U.S. 40 (1968)
• Dunaway v. New York · 442 U.S. 200 (1979)
• Davis v. Mississippi · 394 U.S. 721 (1969)
• Lewis v. City of New Orleans · 415 U.S. 130 (1974)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Lanzetta v. New Jersey · 306 U.S. 451 (1939)
• United States v. Mendenhall · 446 U.S. 544 (1980)
• Adams v. Williams · 407 U.S. 143 (1972)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Connally v. General Construction Co. · 269 U.S. 385 (1926)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Michigan v. Summers · 452 U.S. 692 (1981)
• Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) · 308 U.S. 147 (1939)
• Michigan v. DeFillippo · 443 U.S. 31 (1979)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin · 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
• Winters v. New York · 333 U.S. 507 (1948)
• United States v. Mazurie · 419 U.S. 544 (1975)

Cited by

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

• City of Chicago v. Morales · 527 U.S. 41 (1999)
• James v. United States · 550 U.S. 192 (2007)
• Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court of Nev., Humboldt Cty. · 542 U.S. 177 (2004)
• Gonzales v. Carhart · 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• Sessions v. Dimaya · 584 U.S. 148 (2018)
• Regan v. Time, Inc. · 468 U.S. 641 (1984)
• City of Houston v. Hill · 482 U.S. 451 (1987)
• Johnson v. United States · 576 U.S. 591 (2015)
• United States v. Sharpe · 470 U.S. 675 (1985)
• United States v. Davis · 588 U.S. 445 (2019)
• Gundy v. United States · 588 U.S. 128 (2019)
• McDonnell v. United States · 579 U.S. 550 (2016)
• Beckles v. United States · 580 U.S. 256 (2017)
• United States v. Place · 462 U.S. 696 (1983)
• United States v. Lanier · 520 U.S. 259 (1997)
• Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
• Osborne v. Ohio · 495 U.S. 103 (1990)
• Illinois v. Gates · 462 U.S. 213 (1983)
• Michigan v. Long · 463 U.S. 1032 (1983)
• Griffin v. Wisconsin · 483 U.S. 868 (1987)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Hill v. Colorado · 530 U.S. 703 (2000)
• Boos v. Barry · 485 U.S. 312 (1988)
• Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co. · 467 U.S. 947 (1984)
• United States v. Montoya De Hernandez · 473 U.S. 531 (1985)
• Clark v. Martinez · 543 U.S. 371 (2005)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• New York v. Class · 475 U.S. 106 (1986)
• Pope v. Illinois · 481 U.S. 497 (1987)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Sandra Day O'Connor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1983). 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).