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County of Sacramento v. Teri Lewis and Thomas Lewis

523 U.S. 833 · Decided May 26, 1998 · 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

County of Sacramento v. Teri Lewis and Thomas Lewis was decided on May 26, 1998 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice David H. Souter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
523 U.S. 833 · 118 S. Ct. 1708 · 140 L. Ed. 2d 1043 · 1998 U.S. LEXIS 3404
Docket number
96-1337
Decided
May 26, 1998
Argued
December 9, 1997
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
9–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
David H. Souter
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Chief Justice William H. RehnquistConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice John Paul StevensSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorConcurrence
Justice Antonin ScaliaSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Anthony M. KennedyConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice David H. SouterMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Clarence ThomasSpecial concurrence
Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgMajority
Justice Stephen G. BreyerConcurrenceWrote an opinion

Full case caption

County of Sacramento, et al. v. Teri Lewis and Thomas Lewis, Personal Representatives of the Estate of Philip Lewis, Deceased

SCDB identifiers: case 1997-071, docket 1997-071-01.

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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