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De Canas v. Bica

424 U.S. 351 · Decided February 25, 1976 · 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

De Canas v. Bica was decided on February 25, 1976 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Employability of aliens” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
424 U.S. 351 · 96 S. Ct. 933 · 47 L. Ed. 2d 43 · 1976 U.S. LEXIS 142
Docket number
74-882
Decided
February 25, 1976
Argued
December 16, 1975
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
8–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
William J. Brennan Jr.
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
Type of law
Constitution
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: John Paul Stevens.

Full case caption

De Canas et al. v. Bica et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1975-036, docket 1975-036-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

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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