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American Foreign Service Association v. Garfinkel

490 U.S. 153 · Decided April 18, 1989 · 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

American Foreign Service Association v. Garfinkel was decided on April 18, 1989 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 “Mootness” in the Judicial Power area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
490 U.S. 153 · 109 S. Ct. 1693 · 104 L. Ed. 2d 139 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2025
Docket number
87-2127
Decided
April 18, 1989
Argued
March 20, 1989
Decision type
Per curiam (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
9–0 (unanimous)
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue (SCDB)
Mootness
Issue area
Judicial Power
Legal provision
Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
Type of law
Constitution
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

American Foreign Service Association et al. v. Garfinkel, Director, Information Security Oversight Office, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1988-075, docket 1988-075-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)

Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)

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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