City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Mark J. Abrams
544 U.S. 113 · Decided March 22, 2005 · 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
City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Mark J. Abrams was decided on March 22, 2005 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Antonin Scalia 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
- 544 U.S. 113 · 125 S. Ct. 1453 · 161 L. Ed. 2d 316 · 2005 U.S. LEXIS 2754
- Docket number
- 03-1601
- Decided
- March 22, 2005
- Argued
- January 19, 2005
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- 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)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Concurrence | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
City of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, et al. v. Mark J. Abrams
SCDB identifiers: case 2004-031, docket 2004-031-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”
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- Clarence E. Hill v. James R. McDonough
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Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
- Reginald A. Wilkinson v. William Dwight Dotson
- Inyo County v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony
- Lisa Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee
- Marian Johnson v. Kristine L. Fankell
- National Private Truck Council, Inc. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission
- Felder v. Casey
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Josue Leocal v. John D. Ashcroft
- Keyse G. Jama v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- A. Neil Clark v. Sergio Suarez Martinez
- Garrison S. Johnson v. California
- Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation v. Michael O. Leavitt
- Roderick Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education
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