Powers v. Ohio
499 U.S. 400 · Decided April 1, 1991 · 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
Powers v. Ohio was decided on April 1, 1991 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Desegregation (general)” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 499 U.S. 400 · 111 S. Ct. 1364 · 113 L. Ed. 2d 411 · 1991 U.S. LEXIS 1857
- Docket number
- 89-5011
- Decided
- April 1, 1991
- Argued
- October 9, 1990
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- Byron R. White
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Desegregation (general)
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority |
Full case caption
Powers v. Ohio
SCDB identifiers: case 1990-056, docket 1990-056-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Desegregation (general)”
- Dionisio Hernandez v. New York
- Thaddeus Donald Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., Inc.
- Georgia v. Thomas McCollum
- Town of Huntington v. Huntington Branch
- James Purkett v. Jimmy Elem
- Batson v. KentuckyAltered precedent
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Board of Education of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Robert L. Dowell
- Burlington Northern Railroad Company v. William D. Ford and Thomas L. Johnson
- Stephanie Nordlinger v. Kenneth Hahn
- United States v. Kirk Fordice
- Quinn v. MillsapLaw held unconstitutional
- Board of Estimate of City of New York v. MorrisLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- In re Michael Sindram
- Board of Education of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Robert L. Dowell
- Mark E. Dennis v. Margaret L. Higgins
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma
- International Union v. Johnson Controls, Inc.
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co.
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