Tolan v. Cotton
572 U.S. 650 · Decided May 5, 2014 · 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
Tolan v. Cotton was decided on May 5, 2014 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned 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
- 572 U.S. 650 · 134 S. Ct. 1861 · 188 L. Ed. 2d 895 · 2014 U.S. LEXIS 3112
- Docket number
- 13-551
- Decided
- May 5, 2014
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- 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)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Tolan v. Cotton
SCDB identifiers: case 2013-044, docket 2013-044-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”
- Plumhoff v. Rickard
- Jeremy Carroll v. Andrew Carman
- Maetta Vance v. Ball State University
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Naiel Nassar
- Taylor v. Barkes
- Kingsley v. Hendrickson
Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
- Lisa Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee
- Reed v. Goertz
- Reginald A. Wilkinson v. William Dwight Dotson
- Williams v. Reed
- Lackey v. Stinnie
- Inyo County v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Madigan v. Levin
- Hinton v. Alabama
- Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez
- Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action
- Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community
- Plumhoff v. Rickard
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