Memphis Community School District et al. v. Stachura

Decided June 25, 1986. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-410 · 477 U.S. 299 (1986) · Cited 1,171 times

Holding

Damages based on the abstract "value" or "importance" of constitutional rights are not a permissible element of compensatory damages in 1983 cases.

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.

• Carey v. Piphus · 435 U.S. 247 (1978)
• Smith v. Wade · 461 U.S. 30 (1983)
• Nixon v. Herndon · 273 U.S. 536 (1927)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc. · 453 U.S. 247 (1981)
• Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
• In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood · 464 U.S. 548 (1984)
• Edwards v. South Carolina · 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Lane v. Wilson · 307 U.S. 268 (1939)
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Foust · 442 U.S. 42 (1979)

Cited by

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

• New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. City of New York · 590 U.S. 336 (2020)
• City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
• Heck v. Humphrey · 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
• Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski · 592 U.S. 279 (2021)
• County of Los Angeles v. Mendez · 581 U.S. 420 (2017)
• Farrar v. Hobby · 506 U.S. 103 (1992)
• Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller · 596 U.S. 212 (2022)
• Tanzin v. Tanvir · 592 U.S. 43 (2020)
• Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• United States v. Burke · 504 U.S. 229 (1992)
• Lozman v. Riviera Beach · 585 U.S. 87 (2018)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).