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Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky v. Hillary Rodham Clinton

566 U.S. 189 · Decided March 26, 2012 · 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

Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky v. Hillary Rodham Clinton was decided on March 26, 2012 by a vote of 8–1. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Executive authority versus Congress or the states” in the Miscellaneous area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
566 U.S. 189 · 132 S. Ct. 1421 · 182 L. Ed. 2d 423 · 2012 U.S. LEXIS 2536
Docket number
10-699
Decided
March 26, 2012
Argued
November 7, 2011
Court era
Roberts Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
8–1
Majority opinion
John G. Roberts Jr.
Opinion assigned by
John G. Roberts Jr.
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Miscellaneous
Legal provision
116-1350, sec 214
Type of law
Infrequently litigated statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Antonin ScaliaMajority
Justice Anthony M. KennedyMajority
Justice Clarence ThomasMajority
Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgMajority
Justice Stephen G. BreyerDissentWrote an opinion
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.MajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.Special concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Sonia SotomayorSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Elena KaganMajority

Full case caption

Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky, by His Parents and Guardians, Ari Z. and Naomi Siegman Zivotofsky, Petitioner v. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State

SCDB identifiers: case 2011-037, docket 2011-037-01.

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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