Meachum, Correctional Superintendent, et al. v. Fano et al.

Decided June 25, 1976. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-252 · 427 U.S. 215 (1976) · Cited 3,743 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.

• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Wolff v. McDonnell · 418 U.S. 539 (1974)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Johnson v. Avery · 393 U.S. 483 (1969)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Perry v. Sindermann · 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Cruz v. Beto · 405 U.S. 319 (1972)
• Dent v. West Virginia · 129 U.S. 114 (1889)

Cited by

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

• Sandin v. Conner · 515 U.S. 472 (1995)
• Hewitt v. Helms · 459 U.S. 460 (1983)
• Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform · 431 U.S. 816 (1977)
• Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat · 452 U.S. 458 (1981)
• McKune v. Lile · 536 U.S. 24 (2002)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Olim v. Wakinekona · 461 U.S. 238 (1983)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Kentucky Department of Corrections v. Thompson · 490 U.S. 454 (1989)
• Vitek v. Jones · 445 U.S. 480 (1980)
• Board of Pardons v. Allen · 482 U.S. 369 (1987)
• Gutierrez v. Saenz · 606 U.S. 305 (2025)
• Ford v. Wainwright · 477 U.S. 399 (1986)
• Jago v. Van Curen · 454 U.S. 14 (1981)
• United States v. Haymond · 588 U.S. 634 (2019)
• Wilkinson v. Austin · 545 U.S. 209 (2005)
• Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz · 496 U.S. 444 (1990)
• District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne · 557 U.S. 52 (2009)
• Walters v. National Assn. of Radiation Survivors · 473 U.S. 305 (1985)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Leis v. Flynt · 439 U.S. 438 (1979)
• O'Bannon v. Town Court Nursing Center · 447 U.S. 773 (1980)
• Young v. Harper · 520 U.S. 143 (1997)
• Albright v. Oliver · 510 U.S. 266 (1994)
• Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill · 470 U.S. 532 (1985)
• Bounds v. Smith · 430 U.S. 817 (1977)
• Hughes v. Rowe · 449 U.S. 5 (1980)
• Washington v. Glucksberg · 521 U.S. 702 (1997)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)

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).