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Arnett v. Kennedy

416 U.S. 134 · Decided April 16, 1974 · Supreme Court of the United States

Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.

At a glance

Arnett v. Kennedy was decided on April 16, 1974 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, hearing for government employees” in the Due Process area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
416 U.S. 134 · 94 S. Ct. 1633 · 40 L. Ed. 2d 15 · 1974 U.S. LEXIS 125
Docket number
72-1118
Decided
April 16, 1974
Argued
November 7, 1973
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–4
Majority opinion
William H. Rehnquist
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
Due Process
Legal provision
Fifth Amendment (due process)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William O. DouglasDissentWrote an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Dissent
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Thurgood MarshallDissentWrote an opinion
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunSpecial concurrence
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Special concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice William H. RehnquistJudgment of the CourtWrote an opinion

Full case caption

Arnett, Director, Office of Economic Opportunity, et al. v. Kennedy et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1973-087, docket 1973-087-01.

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error