Harlow v. Fitzgerald
457 U.S. 800 · Decided June 24, 1982 · 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
Harlow v. Fitzgerald was decided on June 24, 1982 by a vote of 8–1. The Court vacated 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 “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 457 U.S. 800 · 102 S. Ct. 2727 · 73 L. Ed. 2d 396 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 139
- Docket number
- 80-945
- Decided
- June 24, 1982
- Argued
- November 30, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Harlow et al. v. Fitzgerald
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-141, docket 1981-141-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Nixon v. Fitzgerald
- Velde v. National Black Police Assn., Inc.
- Board of Education of Rogers v. McCluskey
- Lockheed Aircraft Corp. v. United States
- Block v. Neal
- Chappell v. Wallace
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Watt v. Energy Action Educational Foundation
- Central Trust Co. v. Official Creditors' Committee of Geiger Enterprises, Inc.
- United States v. Clark
- Community Communications Co., Inc. v. City of Boulder
- New England Power Co. v. New HampshireLaw held unconstitutional
- G.D. Searle & Co. v. Cohn
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