Robert R. Freeman, et al. v. Willie Eugene Pitts, et al.

Decided March 31, 1992. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1290 · 503 U.S. 467 (1992) · Cited 422 times

Holding

Congress exercised its apportionment authority within the limits dictated by the Constitution.

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 8–0.

“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.

• Green v. County School Board of New Kent County · 391 U.S. 430 (1968)
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education · 402 U.S. 1 (1971)
• Board of Ed. of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Dowell · 498 U.S. 237 (1991)
• Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, Denver · 413 U.S. 189 (1973)
• Pasadena City Board of Education v. Spangler · 427 U.S. 424 (1976)
• Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman · 443 U.S. 526 (1979)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Columbus Board of Education v. Penick · 443 U.S. 449 (1979)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• Bazemore v. Friday · 478 U.S. 385 (1986)
• Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman · 433 U.S. 406 (1977)
• Washington v. Davis · 426 U.S. 229 (1976)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty. · 377 U.S. 218 (1964)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 418 U.S. 717 (1974)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Curtin Matheson Scientific, Inc. · 494 U.S. 775 (1990)
• Monroe v. Board of Commissioners of Jackson · 391 U.S. 450 (1968)
• Davis v. Board of School Comm'rs of Mobile Cty. · 402 U.S. 33 (1971)
• Raney v. Board of Education of Gould School District · 391 U.S. 443 (1968)
• Goss v. Board of Ed. of Knoxville · 373 U.S. 683 (1963)
• United States v. Scotland Neck City Board of Education · 407 U.S. 484 (1972)
• Bradley v. School Board of Richmond · 382 U.S. 103 (1965)
• ROGERS Et Al. v. PAUL Et Al. · 382 U.S. 198 (1965)

Cited by

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

• Missouri v. Jenkins · 515 U.S. 70 (1995)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)
• United States v. Fordice · 505 U.S. 717 (1992)
• Grutter v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
• Grupo Mexicano De Desarrollo, S. A. v. Alliance Bond Fund, Inc. · 527 U.S. 308 (1999)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). 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).