Richard A. Lyng v. International Union
485 U.S. 360 · Decided March 23, 1988 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Richard A. Lyng v. International Union was decided on March 23, 1988 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Poverty law, constitutional” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 485 U.S. 360 · 108 S. Ct. 1184 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 380 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 1448
- Docket number
- 86-1471
- Decided
- March 23, 1988
- Argued
- December 7, 1987
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Poverty law, constitutional
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 7 U.S.C. § 2015
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority |
Did not participate: Anthony M. Kennedy.
Full case caption
Richard A. Lyng, Secretary of Agriculture v. International Union, United Automobile Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-054, docket 1987-054-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Poverty law, constitutional”
- Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools
- Bowen v. Gilliard
- Lyng v. Castillo
- Bowen v. Owens
- Green v. Mansour
- Blum v. Yaretsky
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Ronald W. Reagan v. James Abourezk
- Langley et Ux. v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Forrester v. White
- Honig v. Doe
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Assibi Abudu
- City of St. Louis v. James H. Praprotnik
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