Walker L. Chandler, et al. v. Zell D. Miller, Governor of Georgia, et al.

Decided April 15, 1997. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 96-126 · 520 U.S. 305 (1997) · Cited 524 times

Holding

Georgia’s requirement that candidates for state office pass a drug test does not fit within the closely guarded category of constitutionally permissible suspicionless searches.

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 8–1.

“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.

• Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Assn. · 489 U.S. 602 (1989)
• National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab · 489 U.S. 656 (1989)
• Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton · 515 U.S. 646 (1995)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Olmstead v. United States · 277 U.S. 438 (1928)
• United States v. Jacobsen · 466 U.S. 109 (1984)
• United Paperworkers International Union v. Misco, Inc. · 484 U.S. 29 (1987)
• New Jersey v. T. L. O. · 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
• United States v. Martinez-Fuerte · 428 U.S. 543 (1976)
• Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz · 496 U.S. 444 (1990)
• New York v. Burger · 482 U.S. 691 (1987)
• Department of the Navy v. Egan · 484 U.S. 518 (1988)
• New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann · 285 U.S. 262 (1932)
• Bond v. Floyd · 385 U.S. 116 (1966)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)

Cited by

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

• Maryland v. King · 569 U.S. 435 (2013)
• Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls · 536 U.S. 822 (2002)
• Ferguson v. City of Charleston · 532 U.S. 67 (2001)
• City of L. A. v. Patel · 576 U.S. 409 (2015)
• City of Indianapolis v. Edmond · 531 U.S. 32 (2000)
• Wyoming v. Houghton · 526 U.S. 295 (1999)
• Samson v. California · 547 U.S. 843 (2006)

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).