Traynor v. Turnage
485 U.S. 535 · Decided April 20, 1988 · 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
Traynor v. Turnage was decided on April 20, 1988 by a vote of 4–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Military, veterans” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 485 U.S. 535 · 108 S. Ct. 1372 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 618 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 1874
- Docket number
- 86-622
- Decided
- April 20, 1988
- Argued
- December 7, 1987
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 4–3
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Military, veterans
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 38 U.S.C. § 211
- 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 | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Did not participate: Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy.
Full case caption
Traynor v. Turnage, Administrator, Veterans' Administration, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-065, docket 1987-065-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Military, veterans”
- Jesse Brown v. Fred P. Gardner
- Monroe v. Standard Oil Co.
- Coffy v. Republic Steel Corp.
- Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
- Alabama Power Co. v. Davis
- Foster v. Dravo Corp.
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