McDonough v. Smith
Decided June 20, 2019. Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 18-485 · 588 U.S. 109 (2019) · Cited 578 times
Holding
The statute of limitations for McDonough’s 42 U. S. C. §1983 fabricated-evidence claim against his prosecutor began to run when the criminal proceedings against him terminated in his favor—that is, when he was acquitted at the end of his second trial.
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 6–3.
Majority · 6
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Brett M. Kavanaugh
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Dissenting · 3
- Clarence Thomas · filed a dissenting opinion
- Elena Kagan
- Neil M. Gorsuch
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
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.
- Wallace v. Kato · 549 U.S. 384 (2007)
- Heck v. Humphrey · 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
- Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
- Albright v. Oliver · 510 U.S. 266 (1994)
- Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
- County of Sacramento v. Lewis · 523 U.S. 833 (1998)
- Napue v. Illinois · 360 U.S. 264 (1959)
- Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit Court of Kentucky · 410 U.S. 484 (1973)
- Panetti v. Quarterman · 551 U.S. 930 (2007)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Soldal v. Cook County · 506 U.S. 56 (1992)
- Justices of Boston Municipal Court v. Lydon · 466 U.S. 294 (1984)
- Dodd v. United States · 545 U.S. 353 (2005)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn · 604 U.S. 593 (2025)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Sonia Sotomayor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2019). 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).