Williams v. Reed
Decided February 21, 2025. Brett M. Kavanaugh delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 23-191 · 604 U.S. 168 (2025) · Cited 19 times
Holding
Where a state court’s application of a state exhaustion requirement in effect immunizes state officials from 42 U. S. C. §1983 claims challenging delays in the administrative process, state courts may not deny those claims on failure-to-exhaust grounds.
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 5–4.
Majority · 5
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan
- Brett M. Kavanaugh · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Ketanji Brown Jackson
Dissenting · 4
- Clarence Thomas · filed a dissenting opinion
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Neil M. Gorsuch
- Amy Coney Barrett
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
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.
- Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)
- Felder v. Casey · 487 U.S. 131 (1988)
- Howlett Ex Rel. Howlett v. Rose · 496 U.S. 356 (1990)
- Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
- Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
- McKnett v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Co. · 292 U.S. 230 (1934)
- Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
- Booth v. Churner · 532 U.S. 731 (2001)
- Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
- McCarthy v. Madigan · 503 U.S. 140 (1992)
- United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
- Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)
- Moody v. NetChoice, LLC · 603 U.S. 707 (2024)
- Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC · 598 U.S. 175 (2023)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Brett M. Kavanaugh’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2025). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).