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Davis v. Scherer

468 U.S. 183 · Decided June 28, 1984 · 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

Davis v. Scherer was decided on June 28, 1984 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Liability under civil rights acts” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
468 U.S. 183 · 104 S. Ct. 3012 · 82 L. Ed. 2d 139 · 1984 U.S. LEXIS 132
Docket number
83-490
Decided
June 28, 1984
Argued
April 16, 1984
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
5–4
Majority opinion
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
Type of law
Federal statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Davis et al. v. Scherer

SCDB identifiers: case 1983-148, docket 1983-148-01.

Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”

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Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)

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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