Tennessee v. George Lane
541 U.S. 509 · Decided May 17, 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
Tennessee v. George Lane was decided on May 17, 2004 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Rights of handicapped persons” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 541 U.S. 509 · 124 S. Ct. 1978 · 158 L. Ed. 2d 820 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 3386
- Docket number
- 02-1667
- Decided
- May 17, 2004
- Argued
- January 13, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist 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
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Rights of handicapped persons
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence |
Full case caption
Tennessee v. George Lane et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-059, docket 2003-059-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Americans with Disabilities Act
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- Jo Anne B. Barnhart v. Pauline Thomas
- Raytheon Company v. Joel Hernandez
- General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. v. Dennis Cline
- Shakur Muhammad v. Mark Close
- United States v. Billy Jo Lara
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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