Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety

Decided June 29, 2022. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 20-603 · 597 U.S. 580 (2022) · Cited 39 times

Holding

By ratifying the Constitution, the States agreed their sovereignty would yield to the national power to raise and support the Armed Forces; Congress may exercise this power to authorize private damages suits against nonconsenting States, as in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

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 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Central Virginia Community College v. Katz · 546 U.S. 356 (2006)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority · 535 U.S. 743 (2002)
• Lichter v. United States · 334 U.S. 742 (1948)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• United States v. Texas · 143 U.S. 621 (1892)
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
• United States v. Oregon · 366 U.S. 643 (1961)
• Penn Dairies, Inc. v. Milk Control Comm'n of Pa. · 318 U.S. 261 (1943)
• Tarble's Case · 80 U.S. 397 (1872)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• Sossamon v. Texas · 563 U.S. 277 (2011)
• Testa v. Katt · 330 U.S. 386 (1947)
• Principality of Monaco v. Mississippi · 292 U.S. 313 (1934)
• Perpich v. Department of Defense · 496 U.S. 334 (1990)
• Stewart v. Kahn · 78 U.S. 493 (1871)
• Gilbert v. Minnesota · 254 U.S. 325 (1920)
• South Dakota v. North Carolina · 192 U.S. 286 (1904)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority · 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2022). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).