Moore et al. v. Sims et Ux.

Decided June 11, 1979. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-6 · 442 U.S. 415 (1979) · Cited 1,323 times

Holding

In light of the pending state proceedings, the Federal District Court should not have exercised its jurisdiction but should have abstained under the doctrine of Younger v.

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 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.

• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Huffman v. Pursue, Ltd. · 420 U.S. 592 (1975)
• Juidice v. Vail · 430 U.S. 327 (1977)
• Gibson v. Berryhill · 411 U.S. 564 (1973)
• Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
• Trainor v. Hernandez · 431 U.S. 434 (1977)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• Kugler v. Helfant · 421 U.S. 117 (1975)
• Alabama State Federation of Labor v. McAdory · 325 U.S. 450 (1945)
• Railroad Comm'n of Tex. v. Pullman Co. · 312 U.S. 496 (1941)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• Watson v. Buck · 313 U.S. 387 (1941)
• Gilchrist v. Interborough Rapid Transit Co. · 279 U.S. 159 (1929)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Public Serv. Comm'n of Utah v. Wycoff Co. · 344 U.S. 237 (1952)
• Hicks v. Miranda · 422 U.S. 332 (1975)
• SAMUELS Et Al. v. MACKELL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF QUEENS COUNTY, Et Al. · 401 U.S. 66 (1971)
• Perez v. Ledesma · 401 U.S. 82 (1971)
• Douglas v. City of Jeannette · 319 U.S. 157 (1943)
• Lake Carriers' Assn. v. MacMullan · 406 U.S. 498 (1972)
• Fenner v. Boykin · 271 U.S. 240 (1926)
• Spielman Motor Sales Co. v. Dodge · 295 U.S. 89 (1935)
• Pennsylvania v. Williams · 294 U.S. 176 (1935)
• Home Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. City of Los Angeles · 227 U.S. 278 (1913)

Cited by

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

• Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc. · 481 U.S. 1 (1987)
• Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Ass'n · 457 U.S. 423 (1982)
• New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. Council of City of New Orleans · 491 U.S. 350 (1989)
• Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. · 477 U.S. 619 (1986)
• Santosky v. Kramer · 455 U.S. 745 (1982)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Ankenbrandt Ex Rel. L. R. v. Richards · 504 U.S. 689 (1992)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). 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).