Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co. et al.
Decided June 24, 1988. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 86-1845 · 487 U.S. 312 (1988) · Cited 1,233 times
Holding
Failure to file a notice of appeal in accordance with Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c)'s requirement that the notice "specify the party or parties taking the appeal" presents a jurisdictional bar to the appeal.
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 8–1.
Majority · 7
- Thurgood Marshall · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 1
- Antonin Scalia · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 1
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Foman v. Davis · 371 U.S. 178 (1962)
- United States v. Robinson · 361 U.S. 220 (1960)
- Schiavone v. Fortune · 477 U.S. 21 (1986)
- Mississippi Publishing Corp. v. Murphree · 326 U.S. 438 (1946)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Smith v. Barry · 502 U.S. 244 (1992)
- Bowles v. Russell · 551 U.S. 205 (2007)
- Scarborough v. Principi · 541 U.S. 401 (2004)
- Becker v. Montgomery · 532 U.S. 757 (2001)
- Cameron v. EMW Women's Surgical Center, P. S. C. · 595 U.S. 267 (2022)
- Hohn v. United States · 524 U.S. 236 (1998)
- Ortega-Rodriguez v. United States · 507 U.S. 234 (1993)
- Firstier Mortgage Co. v. Investors Mortgage Insurance · 498 U.S. 269 (1991)
- United States ex rel. Eisenstein v. City of New York · 556 U.S. 928 (2009)
- Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert · 586 U.S. 188 (2019)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Thurgood Marshall’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1988). 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).