Morrison, Independent Counsel v. Olson et al.

Decided June 27, 1988. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1279 · 487 U.S. 654 (1988) · Cited 888 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 7–1.

“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.

• Humphrey's v. United States · 295 U.S. 602 (1935)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Wiener v. United States · 357 U.S. 349 (1958)
• Go-Bart Importing Co. v. United States · 282 U.S. 344 (1931)
• United States v. Nixon · 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Schor · 478 U.S. 833 (1986)
• United States v. Ferreira · 54 U.S. 40 (1852)
• United States v. Germaine · 99 U.S. 508 (1879)
• Muskrat v. United States · 219 U.S. 346 (1911)
• Heckler v. Chaney · 470 U.S. 821 (1985)
• Nixon v. Administrator of General Services · 433 U.S. 425 (1977)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Young v. United States Ex Rel. Vuitton Et Fils S. A. · 481 U.S. 787 (1987)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee · 412 U.S. 94 (1973)
• United States v. Hartwell · 73 U.S. 385 (1868)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. · 458 U.S. 50 (1982)
• Bender v. Williamsport Area School District · 475 U.S. 534 (1986)
• United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty · 445 U.S. 388 (1980)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• United States v. National Dairy Products Corp. · 372 U.S. 29 (1963)
• Gravel v. United States · 408 U.S. 606 (1972)
• United States v. Lovett · 328 U.S. 303 (1946)
• Coleman v. Miller · 307 U.S. 433 (1939)
• Rostker v. Goldberg · 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
• United States v. Will · 449 U.S. 200 (1980)
• McGrain v. Daugherty · 273 U.S. 135 (1927)

Cited by

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

• Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · 591 U.S. 197 (2020)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Weiss v. United States · 510 U.S. 163 (1994)
• Edmond v. United States · 520 U.S. 651 (1997)
• Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. SW Gen., Inc. · 580 U.S. 288 (2017)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• United States v. Arthrex, Inc. · 594 U.S. 1 (2021)
• Collins v. Yellen · 594 U.S. 220 (2021)
• United States v. Munoz-Flores · 495 U.S. 385 (1990)
• Public Citizen v. United States Department of Justice · 491 U.S. 440 (1989)
• Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads · 575 U.S. 43 (2015)
• Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm'n · 576 U.S. 787 (2015)
• Bank Markazi v. Peterson · 578 U.S. 212 (2016)
• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)
• Freytag v. Commissioner · 501 U.S. 868 (1991)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. · 606 U.S. 748 (2025)
• Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg · 492 U.S. 33 (1989)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Clinton v. City of New York · 524 U.S. 417 (1998)
• Miller v. French · 530 U.S. 327 (2000)
• Gentile v. State Bar of Nev. · 501 U.S. 1030 (1991)
• Evans v. United States · 504 U.S. 255 (1992)
• Nixon v. United States · 506 U.S. 224 (1993)
• Zivotofsky Ex Rel. Zivotofsky v. Clinton · 566 U.S. 189 (2012)
• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority v. Citizens for the Abatement of Aircraft Noise, Inc. · 501 U.S. 252 (1991)
• FCC v. Consumers' Research · 606 U.S. 656 (2025)

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).