United States et al. v. Richardson

Decided June 25, 1974. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 72-885 · 418 U.S. 166 (1974) · Cited 847 times

Holding

Respondent lacks standing to maintain this suit.

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. 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.

• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Barlow v. Collins · 397 U.S. 159 (1970)
• Association of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc. v. Camp · 397 U.S. 150 (1970)
• United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures (SCRAP) · 412 U.S. 669 (1973)
• Scripps-Howard Radio, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 316 U.S. 4 (1942)
• Fairchild v. Hughes · 258 U.S. 126 (1922)
• Linda R. S. v. Richard D. · 410 U.S. 614 (1973)
• Laird v. Tatum · 408 U.S. 1 (1972)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. Mink · 410 U.S. 73 (1973)
• Poe v. Ullman · 367 U.S. 497 (1961)
• Barrows v. Jackson · 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
• Trafficante v. Metropolitan Life Insurance · 409 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Gilligan v. Morgan · 413 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Mazer v. Stein · 347 U.S. 201 (1954)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Sanders Bros. Radio Station · 309 U.S. 470 (1940)
• Investment Company Institute v. Camp · 401 U.S. 617 (1971)
• Liverpool, New York & Philadelphia Steamship Co. v. Commissioners of Emigration · 113 U.S. 33 (1885)
• National Licorice Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 309 U.S. 350 (1940)
• Tennessee Electric Power Co. v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 306 U.S. 118 (1939)
• Irvine v. California · 347 U.S. 128 (1954)
• Alabama Power Co. v. Ickes · 302 U.S. 464 (1938)
• Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. v. May · 194 U.S. 267 (1904)
• Tyler v. Judges of the Court of Registration · 179 U.S. 405 (1900)
• General Talking Pictures Corp. v. Western Electric Co. · 304 U.S. 175 (1938)
• Arnold Tours, Inc. v. Camp · 400 U.S. 45 (1970)

Cited by

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

• Federal Election Commission v. Akins · 524 U.S. 11 (1998)
• Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. · 551 U.S. 587 (2007)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Summers v. Earth Island Institute · 555 U.S. 488 (2009)
• Raines v. Byrd · 521 U.S. 811 (1997)
• FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine · 602 U.S. 367 (2024)
• Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins · 578 U.S. 330 (2016)
• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• Clapper v. Amnesty International USA · 568 U.S. 398 (2013)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• United States v. Windsor · 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
• Lance v. Coffman · 549 U.S. 437 (2007)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Lewis v. Casey · 518 U.S. 343 (1996)
• City of Los Angeles v. Lyons · 461 U.S. 95 (1983)
• Powers v. Ohio · 499 U.S. 400 (1991)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)
• United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty · 445 U.S. 388 (1980)
• United States v. Hays · 515 U.S. 737 (1995)
• Schlesinger v. Councilman · 420 U.S. 738 (1975)
• Asarco Inc. v. Kadish · 490 U.S. 605 (1989)
• Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
• Zivotofsky Ex Rel. Zivotofsky v. Clinton · 566 U.S. 189 (2012)
• Carney v. Adams · 592 U.S. 53 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). 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).