West v. Atkins
487 U.S. 42 · Decided June 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
West v. Atkins was decided on June 20, 1988 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the 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
- 487 U.S. 42 · 108 S. Ct. 2250 · 101 L. Ed. 2d 40 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2744
- Docket number
- 87-5096
- Decided
- June 20, 1988
- Argued
- March 28, 1988
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- 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 William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
West v. Atkins
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-126, docket 1987-126-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”
- Loeffler v. Frank
- City of St. Louis v. James H. Praprotnik
- Forrester v. White
- Owens v. Okure
- City of Canton v. Harris
- Graham v. Connor
Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
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- Patsy v. Board of Regents of the State of Florida
- Fair Assessment in Real Estate Association, Inc. v. McNary
- Chardon v. Fernandez
- National Private Truck Council, Inc. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission
- Marian Johnson v. Kristine L. Fankell
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