United States v. Mitchell
463 U.S. 206 · Decided June 27, 1983 · 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. Mitchell was decided on June 27, 1983 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 463 U.S. 206 · 103 S. Ct. 2961 · 77 L. Ed. 2d 580 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 90
- Docket number
- 81-1748
- Decided
- June 27, 1983
- Argued
- March 1, 1983
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Type of law
- No legal provision
- 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent |
Full case caption
United States v. Mitchell et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-140, docket 1982-140-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Chappell v. Wallace
- Bush v. Lucas
- Block v. Neal
- Lockheed Aircraft Corp. v. United States
- Kosak v. United States
- United States v. S. A. Empresa de Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- United States v. Security Industrial Bank
- Xerox Corp. v. County of Harris
- Director v. Perini North River Associates
- Herman & Maclean v. Huddleston
- Memphis Bank & Trust Co. v. Garner
- Energy Reserves Group, Inc. v. Kansas Power & Light Co.
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