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Widmar v. Vincent

454 U.S. 263 · Decided December 8, 1981 · 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

Widmar v. Vincent was decided on December 8, 1981 by a vote of 8–1. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Establishment of religion” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
454 U.S. 263 · 102 S. Ct. 269 · 70 L. Ed. 2d 440 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 134
Docket number
80-689
Decided
December 8, 1981
Argued
October 6, 1981
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
8–1
Majority opinion
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
First Amendment
Legal provision
First Amendment (establishment of religion)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Widmar et al. v. Vincent et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1981-014, docket 1981-014-01.

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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