Mark Howlett, a Minor, by and Through Elizabeth Howlett, His Mother, Natural Guardian and Next Friend v. Scott Rose, as Superintendent of Schools for Pinellas County, Florida, et al.

Decided June 11, 1990. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-5383 · 496 U.S. 356 (1990) · Cited 1,197 times

Holding

A state-law "sovereign immunity" defense is not available to a school board in a 1983 action brought in a state court that otherwise has jurisdiction when such defense would not be available if the action were brought in a federal forum.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad v. Bombolis · 241 U.S. 211 (1916)
• Testa v. Katt · 330 U.S. 386 (1947)
• McKnett v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Co. · 292 U.S. 230 (1934)
• Felder v. Casey · 487 U.S. 131 (1988)
• Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
• Douglas v. New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad · 279 U.S. 377 (1929)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• Herb v. Pitcairn · 324 U.S. 117 (1945)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Tafflin v. Levitt · 493 U.S. 455 (1990)
• Missouri Ex Rel. Southern Railway Co. v. Mayfield · 340 U.S. 1 (1950)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Quern v. Jordan · 440 U.S. 332 (1979)
• City of St. Louis v. Praprotnik · 485 U.S. 112 (1988)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Sullivan v. Little Hunting Park, Inc. · 396 U.S. 229 (1969)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Mississippi · 456 U.S. 742 (1982)
• James v. Kentucky · 466 U.S. 341 (1984)
• Hathorn v. Lovorn · 457 U.S. 255 (1982)
• Hughes v. Fetter · 341 U.S. 609 (1951)
• Barr v. City of Columbia · 378 U.S. 146 (1964)
• Rogers v. Alabama · 192 U.S. 226 (1904)
• Scheuer v. Rhodes · 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
• City of Canton v. Harris · 489 U.S. 378 (1989)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman · 460 U.S. 462 (1983)
• Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co. · 263 U.S. 413 (1924)
• Pierson v. Ray · 386 U.S. 547 (1967)
• Wilson v. Garcia · 471 U.S. 261 (1985)
• City of Oklahoma v. Tuttle · 471 U.S. 808 (1985)

Cited by

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

• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)
• Williams v. Reed · 604 U.S. 168 (2025)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Johnson v. Fankell · 520 U.S. 911 (1997)
• McMillian v. Monroe County · 520 U.S. 781 (1997)
• Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission · 502 U.S. 197 (1991)
• Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. · 544 U.S. 280 (2005)
• American National Red Cross v. S. G. · 505 U.S. 247 (1992)
• DeVillier v. Texas · 601 U.S. 285 (2024)
• Glossip v. Oklahoma · 604 U.S. 226 (2025)

Official text

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

Explore from here

John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).