United States v. Georgia et al.
Decided January 10, 2006. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 04-1203 · 546 U.S. 151 (2006) · Cited 909 times
Holding
Insofar as Title II creates a private cause of action for damages against States for conduct that actually violates the Fourteenth Amendment, Title II validly abrogates state sovereign immunity.
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 9–0.
Majority · 7
- Antonin Scalia · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Clarence Thomas
- David Hackett Souter
- John Glover Roberts Jr.
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
Concurring · 2
- John Paul Stevens · filed a concurring opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“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.
- Tennessee v. Lane · 541 U.S. 509 (2004)
- Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
- City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
- Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
- Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
- Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey · 524 U.S. 206 (1998)
- Vitek v. Jones · 445 U.S. 480 (1980)
- Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
- Louisiana Ex Rel. Francis v. Resweber · 329 U.S. 459 (1947)
- Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
- Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Shelby County v. Holder · 570 U.S. 529 (2013)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2006). 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).