Dennis C. Vacco v. Timothy E. Quill
521 U.S. 793 · Decided June 26, 1997 · 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
Dennis C. Vacco v. Timothy E. Quill was decided on June 26, 1997 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to die” in the Privacy area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 521 U.S. 793 · 117 S. Ct. 2293 · 138 L. Ed. 2d 834 · 1997 U.S. LEXIS 4038
- Docket number
- 95-1858
- Decided
- June 26, 1997
- Argued
- January 8, 1997
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to die
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Dennis C. Vacco, Attorney General of New York, et al. v. Timothy E. Quill et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1996-092, docket 1996-092-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to die”
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- C. Martin Lawyer v. Department of Justice
- M. L. B. v. S. L. J.Law held unconstitutional
- United States v. VirginiaLaw held unconstitutional
- Ruth O. Shaw v. James B. Hunt, Jr.Law held unconstitutional
- George W. Bush v. Al VeraLaw held unconstitutional
- Roy Romer v. Richard G. EvansLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Privacy)
- D. Dean Bibles v. Oregon Natural Desert Association
- Paul Schenck and Dwight Saunders v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York
- Martin D. Lambert v. Susan Wicklund
- Walker L. Chandler v. Zell D. MillerLaw held unconstitutional
- Joseph P. Mazurek v. James H. Armstrong
- Washington v. Harold Glucksberg
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