Brandon v. Holt
469 U.S. 464 · Decided January 21, 1985 · 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
Brandon v. Holt was decided on January 21, 1985 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Liability under civil rights acts” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 469 U.S. 464 · 105 S. Ct. 873 · 83 L. Ed. 2d 878 · 1985 U.S. LEXIS 44
- Docket number
- 83-1622
- Decided
- January 21, 1985
- Argued
- November 5, 1984
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Liability under civil rights acts
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Brandon et al. v. Holt, Director of Police for the City of Memphis, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-025, docket 1984-025-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”
- Wilson v. Garcia
- Springfield Township School District v. Knoll
- City of Oklahoma City v. Tuttle
- Davis v. Scherer
- Burnett v. Grattan
- Tower v. Glover
Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
- Patsy v. Board of Regents of the State of Florida
- Fair Assessment in Real Estate Association, Inc. v. McNary
- Chardon v. Fernandez
- Felder v. Casey
- Robertson v. Wegmann
- Aldinger v. Howard
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston
- Alexander v. Choate
- United States v. Dann
- Ake v. Oklahoma
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Hampton County Election Commission
- Heckler v. Turner
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