Ohio Civil Rights Commission et al. v. Dayton Christian Schools, Inc., et al.
The Court reversed a lower court's decision and stated that the lower court should not have heard the case until after the Ohio Civil Rights Commission had concluded their investigation.
477 U.S. 619 · No. 85-488 · 1985 term · Burger Court
Decided Jun 27, 1986 · argued Mar 26, 1986
Judicial power · Comity: First Amendment
Majority opinion: William Rehnquist
The voteMajority
9–09 in the majority, 0 in dissent
No dissent (9–0)
Reversed and remanded. Ohio Civil Rights Commission et al. won.
What this ruling means
Reversed and remanded: the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit and sent the case back to that court for further proceedings that follow the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Ohio Civil Rights Commission et al. was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Won” means the Court gave that side the result it asked for.
From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.
Summary
The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.
Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Dayton Christian Schools, Inc., 477 U.S. 619 (1986), reversed a lower court's decision and stated that the lower court should not have heard the case until after the Ohio Civil Rights Commission had concluded their investigation. The commission argued that the non-renewal and firing constituted unlawful sex discrimination, while the school argued that this was an ecclesiastical matter not suitable for review by civil authorities.
Data notes
The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.
How the justices voted
Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 1985 term. Filled: the 9 in the majority. Hollow: the 0 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(9)
William RehnquistWrote the majority opinion
John StevensWrote a concurrence
Thurgood MarshallJoined the majority
William BrennanJoined the majority
Harry BlackmunJoined the majority
Lewis PowellJoined the majority
Byron WhiteJoined the majority
Sandra O'ConnorJoined the majority
Warren BurgerJoined the majority
Dissent(0)
- None.
Data notes
Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.
Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.
The parties
Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.
- Petitioner
- Ohio Civil Rights Commission et al.State commission, board, committee, or authority (Ohio)
- Respondent
- Dayton Christian Schools, Inc., et al.Private school, college, or university
- Reached the Court by
- Appeal (the Court was required to hear it)
Data notes
The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.
The law at issue
The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.
- Provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 1254
- Kind of law
- Infrequently litigated statutes
- Decided by
- Statutory construction
Data notes
The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.
Timeline
What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.
- Jun 27, 1986DecidedDecided · Decided 9–0: reversed and remanded. Ohio Civil Rights Commission et al. won.
- Mar 26, 1986ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
- Not datedTaken upTaken up · Reached the Supreme Court on appeal, which the Court had to hear.
- Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit: reversed.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the Ohio Southern U.S. District Court.
Data notes
From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.
Other decisions on the same issue
10 other argued cases since 1946 on comity: First Amendment, newest first.
- Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Association et al.457 U.S. 423Jun 21, 1982 · 457 U.S. 423Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Babbitt, Governor of Arizona, et al. v. United Farm Workers National Union et al.442 U.S. 289Jun 5, 1979 · 442 U.S. 289Judicial power7–27–2 band
- Allee et al. v. Medrano et al.416 U.S. 802May 20, 1974 · 416 U.S. 802Judicial power5–36–3 band
- Boyle, Judge, et al. v. Landry et al.401 U.S. 77Feb 23, 1971 · 401 U.S. 77Judicial power8–18–1 band
- Samuels et al. v. Mackell, District Attorney of Queens County, et al.401 U.S. 66Feb 23, 1971 · 401 U.S. 66Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Younger, District Attorney of Los Angeles County v. Harris et al.401 U.S. 37Feb 23, 1971 · 401 U.S. 37Judicial power8–18–1 band
- Zwickler v. Koota, District Attorney of Kings County389 U.S. 241Dec 5, 1967 · 389 U.S. 241Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Government and Civic Employees Organizing Committee, CIO, et al. v. Windsor et al.353 U.S. 364May 13, 1957 · 353 U.S. 364Judicial power8–0Unanimous band
- Albertson et al. v. Millard, Attorney General of Michigan, et al.345 U.S. 242Mar 16, 1953 · 345 U.S. 242Judicial power7–27–2 band
- Parker et al. v. County of Los Angeles et al.338 U.S. 327Dec 5, 1949 · 338 U.S. 327Judicial power8–0Unanimous band
Data notes
Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.
Official record
Read the full opinion on Justia, the argument audio on Oyez and Wikipedia. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.