West v. Atkins

Decided June 20, 1988. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-5096 · 487 U.S. 42 (1988) · Cited 16,767 times

Holding

A physician who is under contract with the State to provide medical services to inmates at a state-prison hospital on a part-time basis acts "under color of state law," within the meaning of 1983, when he treats an inmate.

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. 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.

• Estelle v. Gamble · 429 U.S. 97 (1976)
• Polk County v. Dodson · 454 U.S. 312 (1981)
• Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co. · 457 U.S. 922 (1982)
• Blum v. Yaretsky · 457 U.S. 991 (1982)
• Rendell-Baker v. Kohn · 457 U.S. 830 (1982)
• O'Connor v. Donaldson · 422 U.S. 563 (1975)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Youngberg v. Romeo Ex Rel. Romeo · 457 U.S. 307 (1982)
• Flagg Bros., Inc. v. Brooks · 436 U.S. 149 (1978)
• United States v. Classic · 313 U.S. 299 (1941)
• United States v. Price · 383 U.S. 787 (1966)
• Tower v. Glover · 467 U.S. 914 (1984)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• Rochin v. California · 342 U.S. 165 (1952)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Spector Motor Service, Inc. v. McLaughlin · 323 U.S. 101 (1944)
• Jean v. Nelson · 472 U.S. 846 (1985)
• Griffin v. Maryland · 378 U.S. 130 (1964)
• John v. Johnson · 414 U.S. 1033 (1973)

Cited by

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

• Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck · 587 U.S. 802 (2019)
• Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co. · 500 U.S. 614 (1991)
• Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. · 531 U.S. 288 (2001)
• American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance v. Sullivan · 526 U.S. 40 (1999)
• National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Tarkanian · 488 U.S. 179 (1988)
• Lindke v. Freed · 601 U.S. 187 (2024)
• Georgia v. McCollum · 505 U.S. 42 (1992)
• Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee · 555 U.S. 246 (2009)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Harry Andrew Blackmun’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1988). 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).