Patchak v. Zinke
138 S. Ct. 897 · Decided February 27, 2018 · 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
Patchak v. Zinke was decided on February 27, 2018 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Jurisdiction of federal district or territorial courts” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2017
Case details
- Citations
- 138 S. Ct. 897 · 200 L. Ed. 2d 92 · 2018 U.S. LEXIS 1515
- Docket number
- 16-498
- Decided
- February 27, 2018
- Argued
- November 7, 2017
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- Clarence Thomas
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Article III, Section 2 (extent of judicial power)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Dissent |
Full case caption
Patchak v. Zinke
SCDB identifiers: case 2017-017, docket 2017-017-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Jurisdiction of federal district or territorial courts”
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- Benisek v. Lamone
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- Jam v. Int'l Finance Corp.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Article III, Section 2 (extent of judicial power)
- Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC
- Bank Markazi v. Peterson
- Diamond v. Charles
- United Steelworkers of America v. R. H. Bouligny, Inc.
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Hamer v. Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago
- In re United States
- National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense
- Artis v. District of Columbia
- Hall v. Hall
- Kisela v. Hughes
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