San Antonio Independent School District et al. v. Rodriguez et al.

Decided March 21, 1973. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-1332 · 411 U.S. 1 (1973) · Cited 3,699 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 5–4.

“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.

• Shapiro v. Thompson · 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
• Bullock v. Carter · 405 U.S. 134 (1972)
• Dunn v. Blumstein · 405 U.S. 330 (1972)
• Douglas v. California · 372 U.S. 353 (1963)
• Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections · 383 U.S. 663 (1966)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. · 406 U.S. 164 (1972)
• Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
• Katzenbach v. Morgan · 384 U.S. 641 (1966)
• Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Griffin v. Illinois · 351 U.S. 12 (1956)
• Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
• Graham v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• Lindsey v. Normet · 405 U.S. 56 (1972)
• Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty. · 377 U.S. 218 (1964)
• Wright v. Council of Emporia · 407 U.S. 451 (1972)
• Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
• Skinner v. Oklahoma Ex Rel. Williamson · 316 U.S. 535 (1942)
• Gray v. Sanders · 372 U.S. 368 (1963)
• Draper v. Washington · 372 U.S. 487 (1963)
• Oregon v. Mitchell · 400 U.S. 112 (1970)
• James v. Strange · 407 U.S. 128 (1972)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15 · 395 U.S. 621 (1969)
• Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc. v. Bowers · 358 U.S. 522 (1959)
• Tigner v. Texas · 310 U.S. 141 (1940)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Williams v. Rhodes · 393 U.S. 23 (1968)

Cited by

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

• Plyler v. Doe · 457 U.S. 202 (1982)
• Papasan v. Allain · 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• Lewis v. Casey · 518 U.S. 343 (1996)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• United States v. Skrmetti · 605 U.S. 495 (2025)
• City of Mobile v. Bolden · 446 U.S. 55 (1980)
• Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools · 487 U.S. 450 (1988)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Martinez Ex Rel. Morales v. Bynum · 461 U.S. 321 (1983)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley Ex Rel. Rowley · 458 U.S. 176 (1982)
• Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia · 448 U.S. 555 (1980)
• Zablocki v. Redhail · 434 U.S. 374 (1978)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 418 U.S. 717 (1974)
• Attorney General of New York v. Soto-Lopez · 476 U.S. 898 (1986)
• Vacco v. Quill · 521 U.S. 793 (1997)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Vance v. Bradley · 440 U.S. 93 (1979)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Obergefell v. Hodges · 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
• Selective Service System v. Minnesota Public Interest Research Group · 468 U.S. 841 (1984)
• Ambach v. Norwick · 441 U.S. 68 (1979)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz · 449 U.S. 166 (1980)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• Clements v. Fashing · 457 U.S. 957 (1982)
• Memorial Hospital v. Maricopa County · 415 U.S. 250 (1974)
• Maher v. Roe · 432 U.S. 464 (1977)
• Schweiker v. Wilson · 450 U.S. 221 (1981)
• Mathews v. Lucas · 427 U.S. 495 (1976)

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).