Polk County v. Dodson
454 U.S. 312 · Decided December 14, 1981 · 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
Polk County v. Dodson was decided on December 14, 1981 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Lewis F. Powell 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
- 454 U.S. 312 · 102 S. Ct. 445 · 70 L. Ed. 2d 509 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 136
- Docket number
- 80-824
- Decided
- December 14, 1981
- Argued
- October 13, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Liability under civil rights acts
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Polk County et al. v. Dodson
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-016, docket 1981-016-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”
- City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc.
- Rendell-Baker v. Kohn
- Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., Inc.
- General Building Contractors Association, Inc. v. Pennsylvania
- Parratt v. Taylor
- Allen v. McCurry
Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
- Fair Assessment in Real Estate Association, Inc. v. McNary
- Chardon v. Fernandez
- Patsy v. Board of Regents of the State of Florida
- Robertson v. Wegmann
- Aldinger v. Howard
- Examining Board of Engineers v. Flores de OteroLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Chardon v. Fernandez
- Ralston v. Robinson
- Blanding v. Dubose
- Cabell v. Chavez-Salido
- Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
- Herweg et Vir v. Ray
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