Williams et al. v. Vermont et al.

Decided June 4, 1985. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-592 · 472 U.S. 14 (1985) · Cited 183 times

Holding

When the Vermont statute is viewed on its face, appellants have stated a claim of discrimination prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause.

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 5–3.

“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.

• Zobel v. Williams · 457 U.S. 55 (1982)
• Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc. v. Bowers · 358 U.S. 522 (1959)
• Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. v. Reily · 373 U.S. 64 (1963)
• Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Washington · 461 U.S. 540 (1983)
• Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co. · 410 U.S. 356 (1973)
• Henneford v. Silas Mason Co. · 300 U.S. 577 (1937)
• Wheeling Steel Corp. v. Glander · 337 U.S. 562 (1949)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Lindsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co. · 220 U.S. 61 (1911)
• Schweiker v. Wilson · 450 U.S. 221 (1981)
• Rinaldi v. Yeager · 384 U.S. 305 (1966)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• Texaco, Inc. v. Short · 454 U.S. 516 (1982)
• Exxon Corp. v. Eagerton · 462 U.S. 176 (1983)
• Austin v. New Hampshire · 420 U.S. 656 (1975)

Cited by

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

• Nordlinger v. Hahn · 505 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc. v. Washington State Department of Revenue · 483 U.S. 232 (1987)
• McKesson Corp. v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Fla. Dept. of Business Regulation · 496 U.S. 18 (1990)
• American Trucking Assns., Inc. v. Smith · 496 U.S. 167 (1990)
• Armour v. City of Indianapolis · 566 U.S. 673 (2012)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• James B. Beam Distilling Co. v. Georgia · 501 U.S. 529 (1991)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc. · 514 U.S. 175 (1995)
• Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner · 516 U.S. 325 (1996)
• Associated Industries of Mo. v. Lohman · 511 U.S. 641 (1994)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).