Zivotofsky v. Kerry
576 U.S. 1 · Decided June 8, 2015 · 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
Zivotofsky v. Kerry was decided on June 8, 2015 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Executive authority versus Congress or the states” in the Miscellaneous area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 576 U.S. 1 · 135 S. Ct. 2076 · 192 L. Ed. 2d 83 · 2015 U.S. LEXIS 3781
- Docket number
- 13-628
- Decided
- June 8, 2015
- Argued
- November 3, 2014
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Miscellaneous
- Legal provision
- 116-1350, sec 214
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Zivotofsky v. Kerry
SCDB identifiers: case 2014-011, docket 2014-011-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Executive authority versus Congress or the states”
- NLRB v. Noel Canning
- NLRB v. Sw General, Inc.
- Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky v. Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Free Enterprise Fund and Beckstead and Watts v. Public Company Accounting Oversight BoardLaw held unconstitutional
- Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection BureauLaw held unconstitutional
- Trump v. Mazars USA
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