McDonough v. Smith
139 S. Ct. 2149 · Decided June 20, 2019 · 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
McDonough v. Smith was decided on June 20, 2019 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor 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
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2018
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 18-485
Case details
- Citations
- 139 S. Ct. 2149 · 204 L. Ed. 2d 506 · 2019 U.S. LEXIS 4180
- Docket number
- 18-485
- Decided
- June 20, 2019
- Argued
- April 17, 2019
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- 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)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Jurisdictional dissent | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Jurisdictional dissent | |
| Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh | Majority |
Full case caption
McDonough v. Smith
SCDB identifiers: case 2018-073, docket 2018-073-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”
- Ziglar v. Abbasi
- Cty. of Los Angeles v. Mendez
- Rivas-Villegas v. Cortesluna
- City of Tahlequah v. Bond
- Thompson v. Clark
- Ross v. Blake
Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
- Reed v. Goertz
- Williams v. Reed
- Lackey v. Stinnie
- Lisa Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee
- Reginald A. Wilkinson v. William Dwight Dotson
- Inyo County v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido
- Nielsen v. Preap
- Washington State Department of Licensing v. Cougar Den Inc.
- Biestek v. Berryhill
- Herrera v. WyomingAltered precedent
- Fort Bend County v. Davis
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