Stafford, U.S. Attorney, et al. v. Briggs et al.
Decided February 20, 1980. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 77-1546 · 444 U.S. 527 (1980) · Cited 324 times
Holding
Section 2 of the Act does not apply to actions for money damages brought against federal officials in their individual capacities.
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 5–2.
Majority · 5
- Warren Earl Burger · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 2
- Potter Stewart · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
“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.
- Train v. Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Inc. · 426 U.S. 1 (1976)
- Schlanger v. Seamans · 401 U.S. 487 (1971)
- Larson v. Domestic and Foreign Commerce Corp. · 337 U.S. 682 (1949)
- International Shoe Co. v. Washington · 326 U.S. 310 (1945)
- Shaffer v. Heitner · 433 U.S. 186 (1977)
- United Steelworkers of America v. Weber · 443 U.S. 193 (1979)
- United States v. Culbert · 435 U.S. 371 (1978)
- Williams v. Fanning · 332 U.S. 490 (1947)
- McIntire v. Wood · 11 U.S. 504 (1813)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Cheney v. United States District Court for District of Columbia · 542 U.S. 367 (2004)
- Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc. · 469 U.S. 189 (1985)
- United States v. Morton · 467 U.S. 822 (1984)
- Coit Independence Joint Venture v. Federal Savings & Loan Insurance · 489 U.S. 561 (1989)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Warren Earl Burger’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1980). 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).