United States v. Lee
455 U.S. 252 · Decided February 23, 1982 · 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. Lee was decided on February 23, 1982 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 455 U.S. 252 · 102 S. Ct. 1051 · 71 L. Ed. 2d 127 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 70
- Docket number
- 80-767
- Decided
- February 23, 1982
- Argued
- November 2, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Free exercise of religion
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (free exercise of religion)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Lee
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-040, docket 1981-040-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Free exercise of religion”
- Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc.
- Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security DivisionLaw held unconstitutional
- Jones v. Wolf
- Jensen v. QuaringLaw held unconstitutional
- McDaniel v. PatyLaw held unconstitutional
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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (free exercise of religion)
- Gary Locke v. Joshua Davey
- Zorach v. Clauson
- Trinity Lutheran Church v. ComerLaw held unconstitutional
- Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
- Espinoza v. Montana Department of RevenueLaw held unconstitutional
- Carson v. MakinLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
- California ex Rel. Cooper v. Mitchell Brothers' Santa Ana Theater
- Widmar v. Vincent
- Citizens Against Rent Control/coalition for Fair Housing v. City of BerkeleyLaw held unconstitutional
- Village of Hoffman Estates v. the Flipside
- Bread Political Action Committee v. Federal Election Commission
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