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U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Ray Thornton

514 U.S. 779 · Decided May 22, 1995 · 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

U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Ray Thornton was decided on May 22, 1995 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miscellaneous federalism” in the Federalism area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

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Case details

Citations
514 U.S. 779 · 115 S. Ct. 1842 · 131 L. Ed. 2d 881 · 1995 U.S. LEXIS 3487
Docket number
93-1456
Decided
May 22, 1995
Argued
November 29, 1994
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
5–4
Majority opinion
John Paul Stevens
Opinion assigned by
John Paul Stevens
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Federalism
Legal provision
Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (composition of the House of Representatives)
Type of law
Constitution
Held unconstitutional
A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

U.S. Term Limits, Inc., et al. v. Ray Thornton et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1994-059, docket 1994-059-01.

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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