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Goldman v. Weinberger

475 U.S. 503 · Decided March 25, 1986 · 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

Goldman v. Weinberger was decided on March 25, 1986 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
475 U.S. 503 · 106 S. Ct. 1310 · 89 L. Ed. 2d 478 · 1986 U.S. LEXIS 34
Docket number
84-1097
Decided
March 25, 1986
Argued
January 14, 1986
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
5–4
Majority opinion
William H. Rehnquist
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
First Amendment
Legal provision
First Amendment (free exercise of religion)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.DissentWrote an opinion
Justice Byron R. WhiteConcurrence
Justice Thurgood MarshallDissent
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Concurrence
Justice William H. RehnquistMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice John Paul StevensConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorDissentWrote an opinion

Full case caption

Goldman v. Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1985-053, docket 1985-053-01.

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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