O'Bannon, Secretary of Public Welfare of Pennsylvania v. Town Court Nursing Center et al.

Decided June 23, 1980. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-1318 · 447 U.S. 773 (1980) · Cited 391 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.

• Vitek v. Jones · 445 U.S. 480 (1980)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division v. Craft · 436 U.S. 1 (1978)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Perry v. Sindermann · 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
• Arnett v. Kennedy · 416 U.S. 134 (1974)
• Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Wolff v. McDonnell · 418 U.S. 539 (1974)
• Meachum v. Fano · 427 U.S. 215 (1976)
• Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Parham v. J. R. · 442 U.S. 584 (1979)
• Bi-Metallic Investment Co. v. State Board of Equalization · 239 U.S. 441 (1915)
• Gagnon v. Scarpelli · 411 U.S. 778 (1973)
• In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Armstrong v. Manzo · 380 U.S. 545 (1965)
• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath · 341 U.S. 123 (1951)
• Gannett Co. v. DePasquale · 443 U.S. 368 (1979)
• Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform · 431 U.S. 816 (1977)
• Montanye v. Haymes · 427 U.S. 236 (1976)
• American Communications Assn. v. Douds · 339 U.S. 382 (1950)
• United States v. Carolene Products Co. · 304 U.S. 144 (1938)
• Den Ex Dem. Murray v. Hoboken Land & Improvement Co. · 59 U.S. 272 (1856)
• Hannah v. Larche · 363 U.S. 420 (1960)

Cited by

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

• Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales · 545 U.S. 748 (2005)
• Department of State v. Munoz · 602 U.S. 899 (2024)
• Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic · 606 U.S. 357 (2025)
• Kerry v. Din · 576 U.S. 86 (2015)
• Hudson v. Palmer · 468 U.S. 517 (1984)
• Ankenbrandt Ex Rel. L. R. v. Richards · 504 U.S. 689 (1992)
• Schweiker v. Wilson · 450 U.S. 221 (1981)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Perini North River Associates · 459 U.S. 297 (1983)

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).