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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

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 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

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Clarence ThomasJurisdictional dissentWrote an opinion
Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgMajority
Justice Stephen G. BreyerMajority
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.Majority
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.Majority
Justice Sonia SotomayorMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Elena KaganJurisdictional dissent
Justice Neil M. GorsuchJurisdictional dissent
Justice Brett M. KavanaughMajority

Full case caption

McDonough v. Smith

SCDB identifiers: case 2018-073, docket 2018-073-01.

Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”

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Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

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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