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Richard B. Cheney v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia

542 U.S. 367 · Decided June 24, 2004 · 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

Richard B. Cheney v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia was decided on June 24, 2004 by a vote of 7–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Freedom of Information Act and related laws” in the Privacy area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
542 U.S. 367 · 124 S. Ct. 2576 · 159 L. Ed. 2d 459 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 4576
Docket number
03-475
Decided
June 24, 2004
Argued
April 27, 2004
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
7–2
Majority opinion
Anthony M. Kennedy
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Privacy
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Chief Justice William H. RehnquistMajority
Justice John Paul StevensConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorMajority
Justice Antonin ScaliaSpecial concurrence
Justice Anthony M. KennedyMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice David H. SouterDissent
Justice Clarence ThomasSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Stephen G. BreyerMajority

Full case caption

Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, et al. v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 2003-082, docket 2003-082-01.

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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