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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 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

Full case caption

United States v. Lee

SCDB identifiers: case 1981-040, docket 1981-040-01.

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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