Kungys v. United States
485 U.S. 759 · Decided May 2, 1988 · 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
Kungys v. United States was decided on May 2, 1988 by a vote of 6–2. 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 “Immigration, loss of citizenship or denaturalization” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 485 U.S. 759 · 108 S. Ct. 1537 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 839 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2028
- Docket number
- 86-228
- Decided
- May 2, 1988
- Argued
- April 27, 1987
- Reargued
- October 13, 1987
- 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
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Immigration and Nationality statutes
- 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. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Anthony M. Kennedy.
Full case caption
Kungys v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-075, docket 1987-075-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Immigration, loss of citizenship or denaturalization”
- Fedorenko v. United States
- Vance v. Terrazas
- Rogers v. Bellei
- Afroyim v. RuskAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Schneider v. RuskAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Kennedy v. Mendoza-MartinezLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Immigration and Nationality statutes
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Pangilinan
- United States v. Mendoza-Lopez
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Hector
- Gene McNary v. Haitian Refugee Center, Inc.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Rios-Pineda
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Ronald W. Reagan v. James Abourezk
- Langley et Ux. v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Forrester v. White
- Honig v. Doe
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Assibi Abudu
- City of St. Louis v. James H. Praprotnik
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