United States v. Miguel Gonzales, Orlenis Hernandez-Diaz and Mario Perez

Decided March 3, 1997. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-1605 · 520 U.S. 1 (1997) · Cited 905 times

Holding

Because the case was moot and should not have been retained for adjudication on the merits, the Court vacates the Ninth Circuit’s judgment and remands the case with directions that the action be dismissed by the District 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 7–2.

“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.

• Witte v. United States · 515 U.S. 389 (1995)
• Simpson v. United States · 435 U.S. 6 (1978)
• Busic v. United States · 446 U.S. 398 (1980)
• Brown v. Ohio · 432 U.S. 161 (1977)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• Russello v. United States · 464 U.S. 16 (1983)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• United States v. Wiltberger · 18 U.S. 76 (1820)
• Abbate v. United States · 359 U.S. 187 (1959)
• Heath v. Alabama · 474 U.S. 82 (1985)
• Harrison v. PPG Industries, Inc. · 446 U.S. 578 (1980)
• Shannon v. United States · 512 U.S. 573 (1994)
• United States v. Alvarez-Sanchez · 511 U.S. 350 (1994)

Cited by

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

• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Zuni Public School District No. 89 v. Department of Education · 550 U.S. 81 (2007)
• Lopez v. Gonzales · 549 U.S. 47 (2006)
• Abbott v. United States · 562 U.S. 8 (2010)
• Thompson v. United States · 604 U.S. 408 (2025)
• Home Depot U. S. A., Inc. v. Jackson · 587 U.S. 435 (2019)
• Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. · 567 U.S. 142 (2012)
• Babb v. Wilkie · 589 U.S. 399 (2020)
• Small v. United States · 544 U.S. 385 (2005)
• Patel v. Garland · 596 U.S. 328 (2022)
• Carcieri v. Salazar · 555 U.S. 379 (2009)
• Gallardo v. Marstiller · 596 U.S. 420 (2022)
• Jama v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement · 543 U.S. 335 (2005)
• Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd. · 543 U.S. 14 (2004)
• Zedner v. United States · 547 U.S. 489 (2006)
• Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P. A. v. United States · 559 U.S. 229 (2010)
• Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker · 535 U.S. 125 (2002)
• City of Columbus v. Ours Garage & Wrecker Service, Inc. · 536 U.S. 424 (2002)
• Brogan v. United States · 522 U.S. 398 (1998)
• Republic of Iraq v. Beaty · 556 U.S. 848 (2009)
• Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League · 541 U.S. 125 (2004)
• Biden v. Nebraska · 600 U.S. 477 (2023)
• HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC v. Renewable Fuels Assn. · 594 U.S. 382 (2021)
• FDA v. R. J. Reynolds Vapor Co. · 606 U.S. 226 (2025)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1997). 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).