Lee v. Thornton
420 U.S. 139 · Decided February 18, 1975 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Lee v. Thornton was decided on February 18, 1975 unanimously (7–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Jurisdiction of federal district or territorial courts” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 420 U.S. 139 · 95 S. Ct. 853 · 43 L. Ed. 2d 85 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 31
- Docket number
- 73-7006
- Decided
- February 18, 1975
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Tucker Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Did not participate: William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall.
Full case caption
Lee et al. v. Thornton, District Director, United States Customs Service, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1974-040, docket 1974-040-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Jurisdiction of federal district or territorial courts”
- United States v. Michigan National Corp.
- Mathews v. Weber
- Thermtron Products, Inc. v. Hermansdorfer, U.S. District Judge
- Pasadena City Board of Education v. Spangler
- City of Kenosha v. Bruno
- Brown v. Chote
Cases on the same legal provision: Tucker Act
- United States v. Testan
- United States v. Hopkins
- Army and Air Force Exchange Service v. Sheehan
- Amell v. United States
- City of Fresno v. California
- Hercules Incorporated v. United States
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- United States v. Michigan National Corp.
- Gonzalez v. Automatic Employees Credit Union
- Fusari v. Steinberg
- Harris County Commissioners Court v. Moore
- Board of School Commissioners of the City of Indianapolis v. Jacobs
- Roe v. Doe
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