Smith v. Wade

Decided April 20, 1983. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1196 · 461 U.S. 30 (1983) · Cited 2,352 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.

• Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Arms · 91 U.S. 489 (1876)
• Carey v. Piphus · 435 U.S. 247 (1978)
• Day v. Woodworth · 54 U.S. 363 (1852)
• City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc. · 453 U.S. 247 (1981)
• Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
• Procunier v. Navarette · 434 U.S. 555 (1978)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Foust · 442 U.S. 42 (1979)
• Pierson v. Ray · 386 U.S. 547 (1967)
• Carlson v. Green · 446 U.S. 14 (1980)
• Wood v. Strickland · 420 U.S. 308 (1975)
• Tenney v. Brandhove · 341 U.S. 367 (1951)
• Missouri Pacific Railway Co. v. Humes · 115 U.S. 512 (1885)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• Scheuer v. Rhodes · 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• Briscoe v. LaHue · 460 U.S. 325 (1983)
• Robertson v. Wegmann · 436 U.S. 584 (1978)
• Felton v. United States · 96 U.S. 699 (1877)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc. · 421 U.S. 454 (1975)
• Bradley v. Fisher · 80 U.S. 335 (1872)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Dalehite v. United States · 346 U.S. 15 (1953)
• Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing Co. · 419 U.S. 245 (1974)
• Denver & Rio Grande Railway v. Harris · 122 U.S. 597 (1887)

Cited by

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

• Kolstad v. American Dental Assn. · 527 U.S. 526 (1999)
• Memphis Community School District v. Stachura · 477 U.S. 299 (1986)
• Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
• Kentucky v. Graham · 473 U.S. 159 (1985)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Davidson v. Cannon · 474 U.S. 344 (1986)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• TXO Production Corp. v. Alliance Resources Corp. · 509 U.S. 443 (1993)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc. · 590 U.S. 212 (2020)

Official text

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

Explore from here

William Joseph Brennan Jr.’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).