Foley v. Connelie
435 U.S. 291 · Decided March 22, 1978 · 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
Foley v. Connelie was decided on March 22, 1978 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger 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
- 435 U.S. 291 · 98 S. Ct. 1067 · 55 L. Ed. 2d 287 · 1978 U.S. LEXIS 71
- Docket number
- 76-839
- Decided
- March 22, 1978
- Argued
- November 8, 1977
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Employability of aliens
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | 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 | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Foley v. Connelie, Superintendent of New York State Police, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1977-053, docket 1977-053-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Employability of aliens”
- Ambach v. Norwick
- Examining Board of Engineers v. Flores de OteroLaw held unconstitutional
- Hampton v. Mow Sun WongLaw held unconstitutional
- De Canas v. Bica
- Saxbe v. Bustos
- Cabell v. Chavez-Salido
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Zablocki v. RedhailLaw held unconstitutional
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
- Idaho Department of Employment v. Smith
- County Board of Arlington County v. Richards
- Holt Civic Club v. City of Tuscaloosa
- Lalli v. Lalli
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Califano v. Jobst
- Idaho Department of Employment v. Smith
- Nashville Gas Co. v. Satty
- Richmond Unified School District v. Berg
- United Air Lines, Inc. v. McMann
- Quilloin v. Walcott et Vir
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