United States v. Sineneng-Smith

Decided May 7, 2020. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 19-67 · 590 U.S. 371 (2020) · Cited 297 times

Holding

The Ninth Circuit panel’s drastic departure from the principle of party presentation constituted an abuse of discretion where the court reached out to decide a question never raised by respondent, namely, whether 8 U. S. C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) is unconstitutionally overbroad.

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.

“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.

• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Johnson v. United States · 576 U.S. 591 (2015)
• Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party · 552 U.S. 442 (2008)
• Greenlaw v. United States · 554 U.S. 237 (2008)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• United States v. Williams · 553 U.S. 285 (2008)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Powers v. Ohio · 499 U.S. 400 (1991)
• Dombrowski v. Pfister · 380 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Castro v. United States · 540 U.S. 375 (2003)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• United States v. Salerno · 481 U.S. 739 (1987)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Honig v. Doe · 484 U.S. 305 (1988)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Day v. McDonough · 547 U.S. 198 (2006)
• Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
• City of Chicago v. Morales · 527 U.S. 41 (1999)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition · 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
• Obergefell v. Hodges · 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
• Barrows v. Jackson · 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Board of Airport Comm'rs of Los Angeles v. Jews for Jesus, Inc. · 482 U.S. 569 (1987)

Cited by

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

• Moody v. NetChoice, LLC · 603 U.S. 707 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). 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).