Regents of the University of California, et al. v. John Doe Etc.
Decided February 19, 1997. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 95-1694 · 519 U.S. 425 (1997) · Cited 1,008 times
Holding
The fact that the Federal Government has agreed to indemnify a state instrumentality against litigation costs, including adverse judgments, does not divest the state agency of Eleventh Amendment immunity.
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.
Majority · 9
“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.
- Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation · 513 U.S. 30 (1994)
- Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
- Moor v. County of Alameda · 411 U.S. 693 (1973)
- Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
- Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
- Smith v. Reeves · 178 U.S. 436 (1900)
- Kennecott Copper Corp. v. State Tax Commission · 327 U.S. 573 (1946)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Lewis v. Clarke · 581 U.S. 155 (2017)
- McMillian v. Monroe County · 520 U.S. 781 (1997)
- Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
- Lapides v. Board of Regents of Univ. System of Ga. · 535 U.S. 613 (2002)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1997). 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).