William J. Clinton, President of the United States, et al. v. James T. Goldsmith
Decided May 17, 1999. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 98-347 · 526 U.S. 529 (1999) · Cited 374 times
Holding
Because the CAAF’s process was neither “in aid of ” its strictly circumscribed jurisdiction to review court-martial findings and sentences nor “necessary” or “appropriate” in light of a servicemember’s alternative opportunities to seek relief, that court lacked jurisdiction to issue an injunction against dropping respondent from the Air Force rolls.
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.
Majority · 9
“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.
- Chappell v. Wallace · 462 U.S. 296 (1983)
- Pennsylvania Bureau of Correction v. United States Marshals Service · 474 U.S. 34 (1985)
- Noyd v. Bond · 395 U.S. 683 (1969)
- Burns v. Wilson · 346 U.S. 137 (1953)
- Carlisle v. United States · 517 U.S. 416 (1996)
- Weiss v. United States · 510 U.S. 163 (1994)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- United States v. Denedo · 556 U.S. 904 (2009)
- Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Henson · 537 U.S. 28 (2002)
- Ortiz v. United States · 585 U.S. 427 (2018)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1999). 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).