South Carolina v. Gathers

Decided June 12, 1989. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-305 · 490 U.S. 805 (1989) · Cited 540 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.

• Booth v. Maryland · 482 U.S. 496 (1987)
• Tison v. Arizona · 481 U.S. 137 (1987)
• Enmund v. Florida · 458 U.S. 782 (1982)
• Lockett v. Ohio · 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
• Eddings v. Oklahoma · 455 U.S. 104 (1982)
• Trop v. Dulles · 356 U.S. 86 (1958)
• Mills v. Maryland · 486 U.S. 367 (1988)
• Gregg v. Georgia · 428 U.S. 153 (1976)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Furman v. Georgia · 408 U.S. 238 (1972)
• Darden v. Wainwright · 477 U.S. 168 (1986)
• Donnelly v. DeChristoforo · 416 U.S. 637 (1974)
• Woodson v. North Carolina · 428 U.S. 280 (1976)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Zant v. Stephens · 462 U.S. 862 (1983)
• McCleskey v. Kemp · 481 U.S. 279 (1987)
• Gardner v. Florida · 430 U.S. 349 (1977)
• United States v. Scott · 437 U.S. 82 (1978)
• California v. Brown · 479 U.S. 538 (1987)
• Spaziano v. Florida · 468 U.S. 447 (1984)
• Smith v. Allwright · 321 U.S. 649 (1944)
• Thompson v. Oklahoma · 487 U.S. 815 (1988)
• Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. Florida Nursing Home Ass'n · 450 U.S. 147 (1981)
• United States v. Jenkins · 420 U.S. 358 (1975)
• Minersville School District v. Gobitis · 310 U.S. 586 (1940)

Cited by

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

• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• Lockhart v. Fretwell · 506 U.S. 364 (1993)
• Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
• Dawson v. Delaware · 503 U.S. 159 (1992)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)

Official text

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

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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).