Leonard Heller, Secretary, Kentucky Cabinet for Human Resources v. Samuel Doe, by His Mother and Next Friend, Mary Doe, et al.

Decided June 24, 1993. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 92-351 · 509 U.S. 312 (1993) · Cited 2,199 times

Holding

Respondents are not entitled to absolute immunity.

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.

• Addington v. Texas · 441 U.S. 418 (1979)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Beach Communications, Inc. · 508 U.S. 307 (1993)
• Foucha v. Louisiana · 504 U.S. 71 (1992)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Vance v. Bradley · 440 U.S. 93 (1979)
• United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz · 449 U.S. 166 (1980)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Youngberg v. Romeo Ex Rel. Romeo · 457 U.S. 307 (1982)
• City of New Orleans v. Dukes · 427 U.S. 297 (1976)
• Nordlinger v. Hahn · 505 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Parham v. J. R. · 442 U.S. 584 (1979)
• Schweiker v. Wilson · 450 U.S. 221 (1981)
• Penry v. Lynaugh · 492 U.S. 302 (1989)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder · 425 U.S. 185 (1976)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• Vitek v. Jones · 445 U.S. 480 (1980)
• Lindsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co. · 220 U.S. 61 (1911)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Medina v. California · 505 U.S. 437 (1992)
• Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co. · 449 U.S. 456 (1981)
• Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform · 431 U.S. 816 (1977)
• United States v. Carolene Products Co. · 304 U.S. 144 (1938)
• McDonald v. Board of Election Comm'rs of Chicago · 394 U.S. 802 (1969)
• Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co. · 410 U.S. 356 (1973)

Cited by

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

• Armour v. City of Indianapolis · 566 U.S. 673 (2012)
• Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• District of Columbia v. Heller · 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
• United States v. Windsor · 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
• Tuan Anh Nguyen v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 533 U.S. 53 (2001)
• Kansas v. Hendricks · 521 U.S. 346 (1997)
• Washington v. Glucksberg · 521 U.S. 702 (1997)
• Hamdi v. Rumsfeld · 542 U.S. 507 (2004)
• Romer v. Evans · 517 U.S. 620 (1996)
• Miller v. Johnson · 515 U.S. 900 (1995)
• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
• Vacco v. Quill · 521 U.S. 793 (1997)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). 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).