United States Department of State v. Michael D. Ray et al.
Decided December 16, 1991. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 90-747 · 502 U.S. 164 (1991) · Cited 755 times
Holding
FELA creates a cause of action against a state-owned railroad, enforceable in state court.
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 8–0.
Majority · 6
- John Paul Stevens · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- David Hackett Souter
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 2
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Antonin Scalia · filed a concurring 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.
- Department of the Air Force v. Rose · 425 U.S. 352 (1976)
- United States Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press · 489 U.S. 749 (1989)
- United States Department of State v. Washington Post Co. · 456 U.S. 595 (1982)
- John Doe Agency v. John Doe Corp. · 493 U.S. 146 (1989)
- Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca · 480 U.S. 421 (1987)
- Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Stevic · 467 U.S. 407 (1984)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- National Archives & Records Administration v. Favish · 541 U.S. 157 (2004)
- United States Department of Defense v. Federal Labor Relations Authority · 510 U.S. 487 (1994)
- Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc. · 509 U.S. 155 (1993)
- Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc. · 562 U.S. 397 (2011)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). 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).