L. Douglas Wilder, Governor of Virginia, et al. v. Virginia Hospital Association

Decided June 14, 1990. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-2043 · 496 U.S. 498 (1990) · Cited 1,320 times

Holding

The Boren Amendment is enforceable in a 1983 action for declaratory and injunctive relief brought by health care providers.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Wright v. City of Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority · 479 U.S. 418 (1987)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Smith v. Robinson · 468 U.S. 992 (1984)
• Rosado v. Wyman · 397 U.S. 397 (1970)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 493 U.S. 103 (1989)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• American Tobacco Co. v. Patterson · 456 U.S. 63 (1982)
• Thompson v. Thompson · 484 U.S. 174 (1988)

Cited by

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

• Suter v. Artist M. · 503 U.S. 347 (1992)
• Gonzaga University v. Doe · 536 U.S. 273 (2002)
• Blessing v. Freestone · 520 U.S. 329 (1997)
• Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc. · 575 U.S. 320 (2015)
• Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic · 606 U.S. 357 (2025)
• Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. · 552 U.S. 148 (2008)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• Frew Ex Rel. Frew v. Hawkins · 540 U.S. 431 (2004)
• Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation v. Environmental Protection Agency · 540 U.S. 461 (2004)
• Dennis v. Higgins · 498 U.S. 439 (1991)
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams · 544 U.S. 113 (2005)
• Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion Cty. v. Talevski · 599 U.S. 166 (2023)
• Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, Inc. · 565 U.S. 606 (2012)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).