Mackey, Registrar of Motor Vehicles of Massachusetts v. Montrym

Decided June 25, 1979. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-69 · 443 U.S. 1 (1979) · Cited 746 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 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.

• Dixon v. Love · 431 U.S. 105 (1977)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Bell v. Burson · 402 U.S. 535 (1971)
• Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division v. Craft · 436 U.S. 1 (1978)
• Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. · 339 U.S. 306 (1950)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Boddie v. Connecticut · 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
• Ewing v. Mytinger & Casselberry, Inc. · 339 U.S. 594 (1950)
• Aguilar v. Texas · 378 U.S. 108 (1964)
• Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Addington v. Texas · 441 U.S. 418 (1979)
• Phillips v. Commissioner · 283 U.S. 589 (1931)
• Fusari v. Steinberg · 419 U.S. 379 (1975)
• Fahey v. Mallonee · 332 U.S. 245 (1947)
• Central Union Trust Co. of NY v. Garvan · 254 U.S. 554 (1921)

Cited by

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

• Mitchell v. Wisconsin · 588 U.S. 840 (2019)
• Birchfield v. N. Dakota. William Robert Bernard · 579 U.S. 438 (2016)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• South Dakota v. Neville · 459 U.S. 553 (1983)
• Walters v. National Assn. of Radiation Survivors · 473 U.S. 305 (1985)
• Atkins v. Parker · 472 U.S. 115 (1985)
• Brock v. Roadway Express, Inc. · 481 U.S. 252 (1987)

Official text

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

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Warren Earl Burger’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).