United States v. Billy Jo Lara
541 U.S. 193 · Decided April 19, 2004 · 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
United States v. Billy Jo Lara was decided on April 19, 2004 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indians (general)” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 541 U.S. 193 · 124 S. Ct. 1628 · 158 L. Ed. 2d 420 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 2738
- Docket number
- 03-107
- Decided
- April 19, 2004
- Argued
- January 21, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indians (general)
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Article I, Section 1 (delegation of powers)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States v. Billy Jo Lara
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-048, docket 2003-048-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indians (general)”
- Inyo County v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony
- United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe
- United States v. Navajo Nation
- Chickasaw Nation v. United States
- Atkinson Trading Company, Inc. v. Joe Shirley, Jr.
- State of Arizona v. State of California
Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 1 (delegation of powers)
- Daniel Touby et Ux. v. United States
- Gundy v. United States
- Trump v. Mazars USA
- Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers' Research
- Fahey v. Mallonee
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Jo Anne B. Barnhart v. Pauline Thomas
- Raytheon Company v. Joel Hernandez
- General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. v. Dennis Cline
- Shakur Muhammad v. Mark Close
- Tennessee v. George Lane
- David L. Nelson v. Donal Campbell
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