Richard E. Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association

485 U.S. 439 · Decided April 19, 1988 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Richard E. Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association was decided on April 19, 1988 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” 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

Did not participate: Anthony M. Kennedy.

Full case caption

Richard E. Lyng, Secretary of Agriculture, et al. v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1987-061, docket 1987-061-01.

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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