Welch v. Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation, et al.

Decided June 25, 1987. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-1716 · 483 U.S. 468 (1987) · Cited 779 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

“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.

• Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Florida Department of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc. · 458 U.S. 670 (1982)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
• Principality of Monaco v. Mississippi · 292 U.S. 313 (1934)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Employees of Department of Public Health v. Department of Public Health · 411 U.S. 279 (1973)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Ex Parte State of New York, No. 1 · 256 U.S. 490 (1921)
• Petty v. Tennessee-Missouri Bridge Commission · 359 U.S. 275 (1959)
• United States v. California · 297 U.S. 175 (1936)
• California v. Taylor · 353 U.S. 553 (1957)
• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Papasan v. Allain · 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• Quern v. Jordan · 440 U.S. 332 (1979)
• Feres v. United States · 340 U.S. 135 (1950)
• Green v. Mansour · 474 U.S. 64 (1985)
• Parsons v. Bedford, Breedlove, & Robeson · 28 U.S. 433 (1830)
• Arizona v. Rumsey · 467 U.S. 203 (1984)
• The Santissima Trinidad. · 20 U.S. 283 (1822)
• Green v. United States · 355 U.S. 184 (1957)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Larson v. Domestic and Foreign Commerce Corp. · 337 U.S. 682 (1949)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
• American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Finn · 341 U.S. 6 (1951)
• Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co. · 358 U.S. 354 (1959)
• Great Northern Life Insurance Co. v. Read · 322 U.S. 47 (1944)

Cited by

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

• Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission · 502 U.S. 197 (1991)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. v. Feeney · 495 U.S. 299 (1990)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)
• Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)
• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Dellmuth v. Muth · 491 U.S. 223 (1989)
• Hoffman v. Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance · 492 U.S. 96 (1989)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Arizona v. Fulminante · 499 U.S. 279 (1991)
• Ring v. Arizona · 536 U.S. 584 (2002)
• Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs · 498 U.S. 89 (1990)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Jett v. Dallas Independent School District · 491 U.S. 701 (1989)
• Missouri v. Jenkins Ex Rel. Agyei · 491 U.S. 274 (1989)
• Harris v. United States · 536 U.S. 545 (2002)
• CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries · 553 U.S. 442 (2008)
• Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation · 513 U.S. 30 (1994)
• Badgerow v. Walters · 596 U.S. 1 (2022)
• Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz · 601 U.S. 42 (2024)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).