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Kulko v. Superior Court of California in and for the City and County of San Francisco (Horn

436 U.S. 84 · Decided May 15, 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

Kulko v. Superior Court of California in and for the City and County of San Francisco (Horn was decided on May 15, 1978 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, jurisdiction over nonresidents” in the Due Process area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
436 U.S. 84 · 98 S. Ct. 1690 · 56 L. Ed. 2d 132 · 1978 U.S. LEXIS 87
Docket number
77-293
Decided
May 15, 1978
Argued
March 29, 1978
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
6–3
Majority opinion
Thurgood Marshall
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
Due Process
Legal provision
Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Kulko v. Superior Court of California in and for the City and County of San Francisco (Horn, Real Party in Interest)

SCDB identifiers: case 1977-080, docket 1977-080-01.

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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