Plumhoff v. Rickard
572 U.S. 765 · Decided May 27, 2014 · 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
Plumhoff v. Rickard was decided on May 27, 2014 unanimously (9–0). 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 “Liability under civil rights acts” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 572 U.S. 765 · 134 S. Ct. 2012 · 188 L. Ed. 2d 1056 · 2014 U.S. LEXIS 3816
- Docket number
- 12-1117
- Decided
- May 27, 2014
- Argued
- March 4, 2014
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Samuel A. Alito Jr.
- 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
- 28-1291
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Plumhoff v. Rickard
SCDB identifiers: case 2013-049, docket 2013-049-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”
- Tolan v. Cotton
- Jeremy Carroll v. Andrew Carman
- Maetta Vance v. Ball State University
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Naiel Nassar
- Taylor v. Barkes
- Kingsley v. Hendrickson
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Madigan v. Levin
- Hinton v. Alabama
- Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez
- Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action
- Tolan v. Cotton
- Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community
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