Tennessee v. George Lane et al.

Decided May 17, 2004. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 02-1667 · 541 U.S. 509 (2004) · Cited 1,007 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.

• Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
• Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• Katzenbach v. Morgan · 384 U.S. 641 (1966)
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• South Carolina v. Katzenbach · 383 U.S. 301 (1966)
• Boddie v. Connecticut · 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
• United States v. Morrison · 529 U.S. 598 (2000)
• Oregon v. Mitchell · 400 U.S. 112 (1970)
• Olmstead v. L.C. · 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
• Faretta v. California · 422 U.S. 806 (1975)
• Shapiro v. Thompson · 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Taylor v. Louisiana · 419 U.S. 522 (1975)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Dunn v. Blumstein · 405 U.S. 330 (1972)
• Skinner v. Oklahoma Ex Rel. Williamson · 316 U.S. 535 (1942)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Strauder v. West Virginia · 100 U.S. 303 (1880)
• Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., County of Riverside · 478 U.S. 1 (1986)
• M. L. B. v. S. L. J. · 519 U.S. 102 (1996)
• Virginia v. Rives · 100 U.S. 313 (1880)
• City of Rome v. United States · 446 U.S. 156 (1980)
• Buck v. Bell · 274 U.S. 200 (1927)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Georgia · 546 U.S. 151 (2006)
• Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland · 566 U.S. 30 (2012)
• Shelby County v. Holder · 570 U.S. 529 (2013)
• Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc. · 587 U.S. 490 (2019)
• Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller · 596 U.S. 212 (2022)
• Gomez-Perez v. Potter · 553 U.S. 474 (2008)
• City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, LLC · 596 U.S. 61 (2022)
• Collins v. Yellen · 594 U.S. 220 (2021)
• A. J. T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Independent School Dist. No. 279 · 605 U.S. 335 (2025)

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).