City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc.
473 U.S. 432 · Decided July 1, 1985 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. was decided on July 1, 1985 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part and reversed or vacated it in part. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Zoning and land use restrictions” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB records that the Court declared a municipal or other local ordinance unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 473 U.S. 432 · 105 S. Ct. 3249 · 87 L. Ed. 2d 313 · 1985 U.S. LEXIS 118
- Docket number
- 84-468
- Decided
- July 1, 1985
- Argued
- March 18, 1985
- Reargued
- April 23, 1985
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Zoning and land use restrictions
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Held unconstitutional
- A municipal or other local ordinance
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
City of Cleburne, Texas, et al. v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc., et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-158, docket 1984-158-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Zoning and land use restrictions”
- Agins et Ux. v. City of Tiburon
- County Board of Arlington County v. Richards
- Moore v. City of East ClevelandLaw held unconstitutional
- City of Eastlake v. Forest City Enterprises, Inc.
- Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas
- Wilkins v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Hooper v. Bernalillo County AssessorLaw held unconstitutional
- Williams v. VermontLaw held unconstitutional
- Hunter v. UnderwoodLaw held unconstitutional
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. WardLaw held unconstitutional
- Batson v. KentuckyAltered precedent
- Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder
- Park 'n Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park and Fly, Inc.
- Ohio v. Kovacs
- Chemical Manufacturers Association v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
- Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd
- Air France v. Saks
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