Ngiraingas et al. v. Sanchez et al.

Decided April 24, 1990. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-1281 · 495 U.S. 182 (1990) · Cited 144 times

Holding

Neither the Territory of Guam nor its officers acting in their official capacities are "persons" under 1983.

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 6–2.

“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.

• District of Columbia v. Carter · 409 U.S. 418 (1973)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Quern v. Jordan · 440 U.S. 332 (1979)
• Examining Bd. of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors v. Flores De Otero · 426 U.S. 572 (1976)
• Kawananakoa v. Polyblank · 205 U.S. 349 (1907)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• United States v. Price · 383 U.S. 787 (1966)
• Harlow v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Boyd's Lessee v. Graves · 17 U.S. 513 (1819)
• United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez · 494 U.S. 259 (1990)
• Finley v. United States · 490 U.S. 545 (1989)
• Glidden Co. v. Zdanok · 370 U.S. 530 (1962)
• Nevada v. Hall · 440 U.S. 410 (1979)
• Puerto Rico v. Shell Co. (PR), Ltd. · 302 U.S. 253 (1937)
• Van Brocklin v. Tennessee · 117 U.S. 151 (1886)
• National Bank v. County of Yankton · 101 U.S. 129 (1880)
• Binns v. United States · 194 U.S. 486 (1904)
• Anderson v. Pacific Coast Steamship Co. · 225 U.S. 187 (1912)
• Simms v. Simms · 175 U.S. 162 (1899)
• Cotton v. United States · 52 U.S. 229 (1851)

Cited by

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

• Koon v. United States · 518 U.S. 81 (1996)
• Howlett Ex Rel. Howlett v. Rose · 496 U.S. 356 (1990)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Harry Andrew Blackmun’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). 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).