Lehr v. Robertson et al.

Decided June 27, 1983. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1756 · 463 U.S. 248 (1983) · Cited 1,333 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 6–3.

“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.

• Caban v. Mohammed · 441 U.S. 380 (1979)
• Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• Quilloin v. Walcott · 434 U.S. 246 (1978)
• Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
• Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform · 431 U.S. 816 (1977)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Prince v. Massachusetts · 321 U.S. 158 (1944)
• Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)
• Trimble v. Gordon · 430 U.S. 762 (1977)
• Califano v. Goldfarb · 430 U.S. 199 (1977)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. · 339 U.S. 306 (1950)
• Santosky v. Kramer · 455 U.S. 745 (1982)
• Meachum v. Fano · 427 U.S. 215 (1976)
• Lassiter v. Department of Social Servs. of Durham Cty. · 452 U.S. 18 (1981)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Armstrong v. Manzo · 380 U.S. 545 (1965)
• Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union, Local 473 v. McElroy · 367 U.S. 886 (1961)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. · 406 U.S. 164 (1972)
• New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer · 440 U.S. 568 (1979)
• Schroeder v. City of New York · 371 U.S. 208 (1962)
• United States v. Yazell · 382 U.S. 341 (1966)
• Little v. Streater · 452 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Jimenez v. Weinberger · 417 U.S. 628 (1974)

Cited by

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

• Michael H. v. Gerald D. · 491 U.S. 110 (1989)
• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
• Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl · 570 U.S. 637 (2013)
• Troxel v. Granville · 530 U.S. 57 (2000)
• Hodgson v. Minnesota · 497 U.S. 417 (1990)
• Bowen v. Gilliard · 483 U.S. 587 (1987)
• Vieth v. Jubelirer · 541 U.S. 267 (2004)
• Tuan Anh Nguyen v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 533 U.S. 53 (2001)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry · 548 U.S. 399 (2006)

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).