Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois

497 U.S. 62 · Decided June 21, 1990 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois was decided on June 21, 1990 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. 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

Rutan et al. v. Republican Party of Illinois et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1989-120, docket 1989-120-01.

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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