Palmore v. Sidoti

Decided April 24, 1984. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-1734 · 466 U.S. 429 (1984) · Cited 491 times

Holding

The effects of racial prejudice, however real, cannot justify a racial classification removing an infant child from the custody of its natural mother.

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.

• Watson v. City of Memphis · 373 U.S. 526 (1963)
• Buchanan v. Warley · 245 U.S. 60 (1916)
• Wright v. Georgia · 373 U.S. 284 (1963)
• Personnel Administrator of Mass. v. Feeney · 442 U.S. 256 (1979)
• Loving v. Virginia · 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Shelley v. Kraemer · 334 U.S. 1 (1948)
• Strauder v. West Virginia · 100 U.S. 303 (1880)
• Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
• Palmer v. Thompson · 403 U.S. 217 (1971)

Cited by

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

• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin · 570 U.S. 297 (2013)
• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Grutter v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Troxel v. Granville · 530 U.S. 57 (2000)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• JEB v. Alabama Ex Rel. TB · 511 U.S. 127 (1994)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Bowers v. Hardwick · 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
• Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Ass'n v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 478 U.S. 421 (1986)
• Miller v. Johnson · 515 U.S. 900 (1995)
• Johnson v. California · 543 U.S. 499 (2005)
• Spallone v. United States · 493 U.S. 265 (1990)
• Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 497 U.S. 547 (1990)
• Haaland v. Brackeen · 599 U.S. 255 (2023)

Official text

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

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Warren Earl Burger’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). 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).