Citizens Against Rent Control/coalition for Fair Housing v. City of Berkeley
454 U.S. 290 · Decided December 14, 1981 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Citizens Against Rent Control/coalition for Fair Housing v. City of Berkeley was decided on December 14, 1981 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Campaign spending” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a municipal or other local ordinance unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 454 U.S. 290 · 102 S. Ct. 434 · 70 L. Ed. 2d 492 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 135
- Docket number
- 80-737
- Decided
- December 14, 1981
- Argued
- October 14, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Campaign spending
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (association)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Held unconstitutional
- A municipal or other local ordinance
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence |
Full case caption
Citizens Against Rent Control/coalition for Fair Housing et al. v. City of Berkeley, California, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-015, docket 1981-015-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Campaign spending”
- Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
- Bread Political Action Committee v. Federal Election Commission
- California Medical Association v. Federal Election Commission
- Brown v. Socialist Workers '74 Campaign CommitteeLaw held unconstitutional
- Federal Election Commission v. National Right to Work Committee
- Federal Election Commission v. National Conservative Political Action CommitteeLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (association)
- Rodriguez v. Popular Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of United States v. Wisconsin ex Rel. La FolletteLaw held unconstitutional
- Anderson v. CelebrezzeLaw held unconstitutional
- Marchioro v. Chaney
- Roberts v. United States Jaycees
- In re Primus
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
- California ex Rel. Cooper v. Mitchell Brothers' Santa Ana Theater
- Widmar v. Vincent
- United States v. Lee
- Village of Hoffman Estates v. the Flipside
- Bread Political Action Committee v. Federal Election Commission
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