Will v. Michigan Department of State Police et al.

Decided June 15, 1989. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1207 · 491 U.S. 58 (1989) · Cited 14,197 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

Decided 5–4.

“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)
• Quern v. Jordan · 440 U.S. 332 (1979)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
• Wilson v. Omaha Indian Tribe · 442 U.S. 653 (1979)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• Kentucky v. Graham · 473 U.S. 159 (1985)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
• McPherson v. Blacker · 146 U.S. 1 (1892)
• Papasan v. Allain · 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Alabama v. Pugh · 438 U.S. 781 (1978)
• United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• City of Kenosha v. Bruno · 412 U.S. 507 (1973)
• United States v. Cooper Corp. · 312 U.S. 600 (1941)
• United States v. Fox · 94 U.S. 315 (1877)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Green v. Mansour · 474 U.S. 64 (1985)
• Brandon v. Holt · 469 U.S. 464 (1985)
• United States v. Lee · 106 U.S. 196 (1882)
• South Dakota v. Dole · 483 U.S. 203 (1987)
• United States v. California · 297 U.S. 175 (1936)
• Pfizer Inc. v. Government of India · 434 U.S. 308 (1978)

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)
• Hafer v. Melo · 502 U.S. 21 (1991)
• Ngiraingas v. Sanchez · 495 U.S. 182 (1990)
• Inyo County, California v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony · 538 U.S. 701 (2003)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota · 534 U.S. 533 (2002)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Howlett Ex Rel. Howlett v. Rose · 496 U.S. 356 (1990)
• International Primate Protection League v. Administrators of Tulane Educational Fund · 500 U.S. 72 (1991)
• Lewis v. Clarke · 581 U.S. 155 (2017)
• Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt · 587 U.S. 230 (2019)
• Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona · 520 U.S. 43 (1997)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez · 494 U.S. 259 (1990)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Gonzaga University v. Doe · 536 U.S. 273 (2002)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Lapides v. Board of Regents of Univ. System of Ga. · 535 U.S. 613 (2002)
• Idaho v. Coeur D'Alene Tribe of Idaho · 521 U.S. 261 (1997)
• Wisconsin Department of Corrections v. Schacht · 524 U.S. 381 (1998)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• United States v. Dalm · 494 U.S. 596 (1990)
• Hibbs v. Winn · 542 U.S. 88 (2004)
• McKesson Corp. v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Fla. Dept. of Business Regulation · 496 U.S. 18 (1990)
• City of Columbia v. Omni Outdoor Advertising, Inc. · 499 U.S. 365 (1991)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)
• Chisom v. Roemer · 501 U.S. 380 (1991)
• Jones v. Hendrix · 599 U.S. 465 (2023)

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).