Barnard v. Thorstenn

489 U.S. 546 · Decided March 6, 1989 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Barnard v. Thorstenn was decided on March 6, 1989 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Residency requirements” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Barnard, Chairman of the Committee of Bar Examiners of the Virgin Islands v. Thorstenn et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1988-051, docket 1988-051-01.

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Other cases on “Residency requirements”

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  487 U.S. 59Decided June 20, 19887–2Anthony M. Kennedy
• Frazier v. Heebe
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  476 U.S. 898Decided June 16, 19866–3William J. Brennan Jr.
• Hooper v. Bernalillo County AssessorLaw held unconstitutional
  472 U.S. 612Decided June 24, 19855–3Warren E. Burger
• Supreme Court of New Hampshire v. PiperLaw held unconstitutional
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Cases on the same legal provision: Article IV, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (privileges and immunities clause)

• Jones v. Helms
  452 U.S. 412Decided June 15, 19819–0John Paul Stevens
• Christopher H. Lunding v. New York Tax Appeals TribunalLaw held unconstitutional
  522 U.S. 287Decided January 21, 19986–3Sandra Day O'Connor
• Austin v. New HampshireLaw held unconstitutional
  420 U.S. 656Decided March 19, 19757–1Thurgood Marshall
• New York v. O'Neill
  359 U.S. 1Decided March 2, 19597–2Felix Frankfurter
• Mullaney v. AndersonLaw held unconstitutional
  342 U.S. 415Decided March 3, 19526–3Felix Frankfurter
• Missouri ex Rel. Southern Railway Co. v. Mayfield
  340 U.S. 1Decided November 6, 19505–4Felix Frankfurter

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

• Town of Huntington v. Huntington Branch
  488 U.S. 15Decided November 7, 19886–0Per curiam
• Penson v. Ohio
  488 U.S. 75Decided November 29, 19888–1John Paul Stevens
• Pittston Coal Group v. Sebben
  488 U.S. 105Decided December 6, 19885–4Antonin Scalia
• Owens v. Okure
  488 U.S. 235Decided January 10, 19899–0Thurgood Marshall
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson CompanyLaw held unconstitutional
  488 U.S. 469Decided January 23, 19896–3Sandra Day O'Connor
• In re McDonald
  489 U.S. 180Decided February 21, 19895–4Per curiam

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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