William 'sky' King v. St. Vincent's Hospital
502 U.S. 215 · Decided December 16, 1991 · 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
William 'sky' King v. St. Vincent's Hospital was decided on December 16, 1991 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice David H. Souter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Military, active duty” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 502 U.S. 215 · 112 S. Ct. 570 · 116 L. Ed. 2d 578 · 1991 U.S. LEXIS 7175
- Docket number
- 90-889
- Decided
- December 16, 1991
- Argued
- October 16, 1991
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- David H. Souter
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Military, active duty
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 38 U.S.C. § 2024
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Clarence Thomas.
Full case caption
William 'sky' King v. St. Vincent's Hospital
SCDB identifiers: case 1991-017, docket 1991-017-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Military, active duty”
- Thomas F. Conroy v. Walter Aniskoff, Jr.
- Eric J. Weiss v. United States
- James D. Ryder v. United States
- Dwight J. Loving v. United States
- Solorio v. United StatesAltered precedent
- United States v. Larionoff
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Raymond Mireles v. Howard Waco
- Vladimir Zatko v. California
- Barbara Hafer v. James C. Melo, Jr.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. National Center for Immigrants' Rights, Inc.
- County of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation
- Barbara J. Norman v. Dorothy ReedLaw held unconstitutional
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