Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

473 U.S. 788 · Decided July 2, 1985 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. was decided on July 2, 1985 by a vote of 4–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

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

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell Jr..

Full case caption

Cornelius, Acting Director, Office of Personnel Management v. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1984-168, docket 1984-168-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)

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Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

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  470 U.S. 598Decided March 19, 19857–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
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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