Neitzke et al. v. Williams

Decided May 1, 1989. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1882 · 490 U.S. 319 (1989) · Cited 22,300 times

Holding

A complaint filed in forma pauperis is not automatically frivolous within the meaning of 1915(d) because it fails to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6).

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.

• Haines v. Kerner · 404 U.S. 519 (1972)
• Anders v. California · 386 U.S. 738 (1967)
• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• Adkins v. E. I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. · 335 U.S. 331 (1948)
• Hagans v. Lavine · 415 U.S. 528 (1974)
• Conley v. Gibson · 355 U.S. 41 (1957)
• Coppedge v. United States · 369 U.S. 438 (1962)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Penson v. Ohio · 488 U.S. 75 (1988)
• Bell v. Hood · 327 U.S. 678 (1946)
• Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 434 U.S. 412 (1978)
• Cruz v. Beto · 405 U.S. 319 (1972)
• Brower Ex Rel. Estate of Caldwell v. County of Inyo · 489 U.S. 593 (1989)
• McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. · 427 U.S. 273 (1976)
• Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. · 392 U.S. 409 (1968)

Cited by

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

• Denton v. Hernandez · 504 U.S. 25 (1992)
• Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr · 589 U.S. 221 (2020)
• Ashcroft v. Iqbal · 556 U.S. 662 (2009)
• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly · 550 U.S. 544 (2007)
• Erickson v. Pardus · 551 U.S. 89 (2007)
• Coleman v. Tollefson · 575 U.S. 532 (2015)
• Lomax v. Ortiz-Marquez · 590 U.S. 595 (2020)
• Jones v. Bock · 549 U.S. 199 (2007)
• Rowland v. California Men's Colony, Unit II Men's Advisory Council · 506 U.S. 194 (1993)
• Bruce v. Samuels · 577 U.S. 1021 (2016)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).