Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools
487 U.S. 450 · Decided June 24, 1988 · 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
Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools was decided on June 24, 1988 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Poverty law, constitutional” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 487 U.S. 450 · 108 S. Ct. 2481 · 101 L. Ed. 2d 399 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2878
- Docket number
- 86-7113
- Decided
- June 24, 1988
- Argued
- March 30, 1988
- Court era
- Rehnquist 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
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Poverty law, constitutional
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Estoppel
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Kadrmas et al. v. Dickinson Public Schools et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-143, docket 1987-143-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Poverty law, constitutional”
- Richard A. Lyng v. International Union
- Bowen v. Gilliard
- Lyng v. Castillo
- Bowen v. Owens
- Green v. Mansour
- Blum v. Yaretsky
Cases on the same legal provision: Estoppel
- Heckler v. Community Health Services of Crawford County, Inc.
- United States v. Mendoza
- United States v. Stauffer Chemical Co.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Miranda
- Schweiker v. Hansen
- Montana v. United States
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Ronald W. Reagan v. James Abourezk
- Langley et Ux. v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Forrester v. White
- Honig v. Doe
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Assibi Abudu
- City of St. Louis v. James H. Praprotnik
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