Bernal v. Fainter

467 U.S. 216 · Decided May 30, 1984 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Bernal v. Fainter was decided on May 30, 1984 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Employability of aliens” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Bernal v. Fainter, Secretary of State of Texas, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1983-108, docket 1983-108-01.

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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