Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter
567 U.S. 182 · Decided June 18, 2012 · 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
Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter was decided on June 18, 2012 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indians (general)” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 567 U.S. 182 · 132 S. Ct. 2181 · 183 L. Ed. 2d 186 · 2012 U.S. LEXIS 4656
- Docket number
- 11-551
- Decided
- June 18, 2012
- Argued
- April 18, 2012
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Opinion assigned by
- Antonin Scalia
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indians (general)
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 25-450
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal 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 | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter
SCDB identifiers: case 2011-066, docket 2011-066-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indians (general)”
- United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation
- Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
- United States v. Tohono O'Odham Nation
- Madison County
- United States v. Navajo Nation
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. United States
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Joel Judulang v. Eric H. Holder, Jr.
- Cory R. Maples v. Kim T. Thomas
- Rick Perry v. Shannon Perez
- Akio Kawashima v. Eric H. Holder, Jr.
- Curt Messerschmidt v. Brenda Millender
- Toby Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, Inc.
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