Rankin v. McPherson

483 U.S. 378 · Decided June 24, 1987 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Rankin v. McPherson was decided on June 24, 1987 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Rankin et al. v. McPherson

SCDB identifiers: case 1986-151, docket 1986-151-01.

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Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”

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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)

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Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• City of Newport v. Iacobucci
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• Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Commission of Florida
  480 U.S. 136Decided February 25, 19878–1William J. Brennan Jr.
• Meese v. Keene
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• Pope v. Illinois
  481 U.S. 497Decided May 4, 19875–4Byron R. White
• Turner v. Safley
  482 U.S. 78Decided June 1, 19875–4Sandra Day O'Connor

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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