United States v. Arthrex, Inc.

Decided June 21, 2021. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 19-1434 · 594 U.S. 1 (2021) · Cited 129 times

Holding

The unreviewable authority wielded by Administrative Patent Judges during inter partes review is incompatible with their appointment by the Secretary of Commerce to an inferior office; the judgment of the Federal Circuit is vacated, and the case is remanded.

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

“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.

• Edmond v. United States · 520 U.S. 651 (1997)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• Freytag v. Commissioner · 501 U.S. 868 (1991)
• Wiener v. United States · 357 U.S. 349 (1958)
• United States v. Germaine · 99 U.S. 508 (1879)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• Go-Bart Importing Co. v. United States · 282 U.S. 344 (1931)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Stern v. Marshall · 564 U.S. 462 (2011)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc. · 472 U.S. 491 (1985)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• Humphrey's v. United States · 295 U.S. 602 (1935)
• Ryder v. United States · 515 U.S. 177 (1995)
• Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee · 579 U.S. 261 (2016)
• Ex Parte Bakelite Corp'n. · 279 U.S. 438 (1929)
• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority v. Citizens for the Abatement of Aircraft Noise, Inc. · 501 U.S. 252 (1991)
• Auffmordt v. Hedden · 137 U.S. 310 (1890)

Cited by

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

• Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. · 606 U.S. 748 (2025)
• SEC v. Jarkesy · 603 U.S. 109 (2024)
• FCC v. Consumers' Research · 606 U.S. 656 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2021). 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).