Walter McMillian v. Monroe County, Alabama
Decided June 2, 1997. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 96-542 · 520 U.S. 781 (1997) · Cited 879 times
Holding
Alabama sheriffs, when executing their law enforcement duties, represent the State of Alabama, not their counties.
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 5–4.
Majority · 5
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Antonin Scalia
- Clarence Thomas
- Sandra Day O'Connor
Dissenting · 4
- David Hackett Souter
- John Paul Stevens
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a dissenting opinion
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
“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.
- Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
- City of St. Louis v. Praprotnik · 485 U.S. 112 (1988)
- Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati · 475 U.S. 469 (1986)
- Jett v. Dallas Independent School District · 491 U.S. 701 (1989)
- Howlett Ex Rel. Howlett v. Rose · 496 U.S. 356 (1990)
- Regents of University of California v. Doe · 519 U.S. 425 (1997)
- Brady v. Maryland · 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
- Kentucky v. Graham · 473 U.S. 159 (1985)
- Salve Regina College v. Russell · 499 U.S. 225 (1991)
- Brandon v. Holt · 469 U.S. 464 (1985)
- Swint v. Chambers County Commission · 514 U.S. 35 (1995)
- Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
- Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
- Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Ass'n · 555 U.S. 353 (2009)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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William Hubbs Rehnquist’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
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).