Fortis Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia
517 U.S. 186 · Decided March 27, 1996 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Fortis Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia was decided on March 27, 1996 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Voting Rights Act of 1965 and amendments” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 517 U.S. 186 · 116 S. Ct. 1186 · 134 L. Ed. 2d 347 · 1996 U.S. LEXIS 2164
- Docket number
- 94-203
- Decided
- March 27, 1996
- Argued
- October 2, 1995
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 and amendments
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Fortis Morse, Kenneth Curtis Bartholomew and Kimberly J. Enderson v. Republican Party of Virginia et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1995-038, docket 1995-038-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Voting Rights Act of 1965 and amendments”
- Vicky M. Lopez v. Monterey County
- Thomas Young v. Kirk Fordice
- Janet Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board
- Lucious Abrams, Jr., G. L. Avery v. Davida Johnson
- B. C. Foreman v. Dallas County
- City of Monroe v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Voting Rights Act of 1965
- George Voinovich v. Barney Quilter
- Joan Growe v. James Emison
- Rick Perry v. Shannon Perez
- East Carroll Parish School Board v. Marshall
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Robert Attwood v. Harry K. Singletary, Jr.
- Sylvester Jones v. Abc-Tv
- Wisconsin v. City of New York
- James O'Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corporation
- Liang-Houh Shieh v. Edward Kakita
- Dwight J. Loving v. United States
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