Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida et al.

Decided March 27, 1996. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 94-12 · 517 U.S. 44 (1996) · Cited 3,788 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.

• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Principality of Monaco v. Mississippi · 292 U.S. 313 (1934)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• Nevada v. Hall · 440 U.S. 410 (1979)
• Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
• Schweiker v. Chilicky · 487 U.S. 412 (1988)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Green v. Mansour · 474 U.S. 64 (1985)
• Ex Parte State of New York, No. 1 · 256 U.S. 490 (1921)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)
• Dellmuth v. Muth · 491 U.S. 223 (1989)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Quern v. Jordan · 440 U.S. 332 (1979)
• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• Lochner v. New York · 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• Great Northern Life Insurance Co. v. Read · 322 U.S. 47 (1944)
• Hoffman v. Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance · 492 U.S. 96 (1989)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Ass'n v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 478 U.S. 421 (1986)
• Fitts v. McGhee · 172 U.S. 516 (1899)
• United States v. Texas · 143 U.S. 621 (1892)
• Georgia Railroad & Banking Co. v. Redwine · 342 U.S. 299 (1952)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Federal Deposit Insurance v. Meyer · 510 U.S. 471 (1994)

Cited by

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

• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc. · 575 U.S. 320 (2015)
• Allen v. Cooper · 589 U.S. 248 (2020)
• College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority · 535 U.S. 743 (2002)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• Central Virginia Community College v. Katz · 546 U.S. 356 (2006)
• Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety · 597 U.S. 580 (2022)
• Verizon Maryland Inc. v. Public Service Commission of Maryland · 535 U.S. 635 (2002)
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
• Haaland v. Brackeen · 599 U.S. 255 (2023)
• Idaho v. Coeur D'Alene Tribe of Idaho · 521 U.S. 261 (1997)
• Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community · 572 U.S. 782 (2014)
• PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey · 594 U.S. 482 (2021)
• Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz · 601 U.S. 42 (2024)
• Bush v. Vera · 517 U.S. 952 (1996)
• Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Hood · 541 U.S. 440 (2004)
• Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
• Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc. · 570 U.S. 1 (2013)
• Ramos v. Louisiana · 590 U.S. 83 (2020)
• Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt · 587 U.S. 230 (2019)
• Salinas v. United States · 522 U.S. 52 (1997)
• Tyler v. Cain · 533 U.S. 656 (2001)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• Northern Ins. Co. of NY v. Chatham County · 547 U.S. 189 (2006)
• Trump v. Anderson · 601 U.S. 100 (2024)
• Ohio Adjutant General's Dept. v. FLRA · 598 U.S. 449 (2023)

Official text

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

Explore from here

William Hubbs Rehnquist’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).