Little v. Streater
452 U.S. 1 · Decided June 1, 1981 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Little v. Streater was decided on June 1, 1981 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, costs or filing fees” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 452 U.S. 1 · 101 S. Ct. 2202 · 68 L. Ed. 2d 627 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 106
- Docket number
- 79-6779
- Decided
- June 1, 1981
- Argued
- January 13, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, costs or filing fees
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Held unconstitutional
- A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal 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 | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Full case caption
Little v. Streater
SCDB identifiers: case 1980-101, docket 1980-101-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, costs or filing fees”
- Fuller v. Oregon
- Wrenn v. Benson
- Gaca v. United States
- Ortwein v. Schwab
- United States v. Kras
- James v. StrangeLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat
- Watkins v. Sowders
- Jago v. Van Curen
- Smith v. Phillips
- City of Mesquite v. Aladdin's Castle, Inc.
- Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co.
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Dennis v. Sparks
- Allen v. McCurry
- United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz
- Delaware State College v. Ricks
- Fedorenko v. United States
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Associated Dry Goods Corp.
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