Otis McDonald v. City of Chicago
561 U.S. 742 · Decided June 28, 2010 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Otis McDonald v. City of Chicago was decided on June 28, 2010 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miscellaneous criminal procedure” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents. SCDB records that the Court declared a municipal or other local ordinance unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 561 U.S. 742 · 130 S. Ct. 3020 · 177 L. Ed. 2d 894 · 2010 U.S. LEXIS 5523
- Docket number
- 08-1521
- Decided
- June 28, 2010
- Argued
- March 2, 2010
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Samuel A. Alito Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Miscellaneous criminal procedure
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Second Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Held unconstitutional
- A municipal or other local ordinance
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Dissent |
Full case caption
Otis McDonald, et al. v. City of Chicago, Illinois, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2009-091, docket 2009-091-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Miscellaneous criminal procedure”
- District of Columbia v. HellerLaw held unconstitutional
- Charles B. Miller v. Richard A. French
- Scott Leslie Carmell v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. BruenLaw held unconstitutional
- Reed v. Goertz
- Smith v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Second Amendment
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- George Porter, Jr. v. Bill McCollum
- Michigan v. Jeremy Fisher
- Jeffrey A. Beard v. Joseph J. Kindler
- E. K. McDaniel v. Troy Brown
- Keith Smith v. Frank G. Spisak, Jr.
- Marcus A. Wellons v. Hilton Hall
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