Salve Regina College v. Sharon L. Russell

Decided March 20, 1991. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1629 · 499 U.S. 225 (1991) · Cited 2,415 times

Holding

Courts of appeals must review de novo district courts' state-law determinations.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Bernhardt v. Polygraphic Co. of America, Inc. · 350 U.S. 198 (1956)
• Pierce v. Underwood · 487 U.S. 552 (1988)
• Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
• Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp. · 496 U.S. 384 (1990)
• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Hanna v. Plumer · 380 U.S. 460 (1965)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• Miller v. Fenton · 474 U.S. 104 (1985)
• Lehman Brothers v. Schein · 416 U.S. 386 (1974)
• Meredith v. Winter Haven · 320 U.S. 228 (1943)
• United States v. Hohri · 482 U.S. 64 (1987)
• Dick v. New York Life Insurance · 359 U.S. 437 (1959)
• Black & White Taxicab & Transfer Co. v. Brown & Yellow Taxicab & Transfer Co. · 276 U.S. 518 (1928)
• Ruhlin v. New York Life Insurance · 304 U.S. 202 (1938)

Cited by

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

• Lilly v. Virginia · 527 U.S. 116 (1999)
• Gonzales v. Carhart · 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• Leavitt v. Jane L. · 518 U.S. 137 (1996)
• Brown v. Plata · 563 U.S. 493 (2011)
• Ornelas v. United States · 517 U.S. 690 (1996)
• First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan · 514 U.S. 938 (1995)
• McMillian v. Monroe County · 520 U.S. 781 (1997)

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 (1991). 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).