Otis McDonald, et al. v. City of Chicago, Illinois, et al.
The Court found that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms", as protected under the Second Amendment, is incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment and is thereby enforceable against the states.
561 U.S. 742 · No. 08-1521 · 2009 term · Roberts Court
Decided Jun 28, 2010 · argued Mar 2, 2010
Criminal procedure · Miscellaneous criminal procedure
Landmark · Second Amendment rightsOverruled precedentStruck down a local ordinance
Majority opinion: Samuel Alito
The voteMajorityDissent
5–45 in the majority, 4 in dissent
4 dissents (5–4)
Reversed and remanded. Otis McDonald, et al. won.
What this ruling means
Reversed and remanded: the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit and sent the case back to that court for further proceedings that follow the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Otis McDonald, 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.
McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that found that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms", as protected under the Second Amendment, is incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment and is thereby enforceable against the states. The decision cleared up the uncertainty left in the wake of District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) as to the scope of gun rights in regard to the states.
Initially, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit had upheld a Chicago ordinance banning the possession of handguns as well as other gun regulations affecting rifles and shotguns, citing United States v. Cruikshank (1876), Presser v. Illinois (1886), and Miller v. Texas (1894). The petition for certiorari was filed by Alan Gura, the attorney who had successfully argued Heller, and Chicago-area attorney David G. Sigale. The Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association sponsored the litigation on behalf of several Chicago residents, including retiree Otis McDonald.
The oral arguments took place on March 2, 2010. On June 28, 2010, the Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, reversed the Seventh Circuit's decision, holding that the Second Amendment was incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment, thus protecting those rights from infringement by state and local governments. It then remanded the case back to the Seventh Circuit to resolve conflicts between certain Chicago gun restrictions and the Second Amendment.
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 2009 term. Filled: the 5 in the majority. Hollow: the 4 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(5)
Samuel AlitoWrote the majority opinion
Antonin ScaliaWrote a concurrence
Clarence ThomasWrote a concurrence
Anthony KennedyJoined the majority
John RobertsJoined the majority
Dissent(4)
John StevensWrote a dissent
Stephen BreyerWrote a dissent
Ruth GinsburgJoined a dissent
Sonia SotomayorJoined a dissent
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
- Otis McDonald, et al.Resident
- Respondent
- City of Chicago, Illinois, et al.City, town, township, village, or borough government or governmental unit (Illinois)
- Reached the Court by
- Certiorari (the Court chose 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
- Second Amendment
- Kind of law
- Constitutional Amendment
- Decided by
- Judicial review (state level)
- Struck down
- A local ordinance, as unconstitutional
- Precedent
- The Court overruled one of its own earlier decisions.
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 28, 2010DecidedDecided · Decided 5–4: reversed and remanded. Otis McDonald, et al. won.
- Mar 2, 2010ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
- Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
- Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit: affirmed.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the Illinois Northern 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
16 other argued cases since 1946 on miscellaneous criminal procedure, newest first.
- Wolford v. Lopez146 S. Ct. 2032Jun 25, 2026 · 146 S. Ct. 2032Criminal procedure6–36–3 band
- United States v. RahimiLandmark · Second Amendment rights144 S. Ct. 1889Jun 21, 2024 · 144 S. Ct. 1889Criminal procedureLandmark · Second Amendment rights8–18–1 band
- Smith v. United States599 U.S. 236Jun 15, 2023 · 599 U.S. 236Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Reed v. Goertz598 U.S. 230Apr 19, 2023 · 598 U.S. 230Criminal procedure6–36–3 band
- New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. BruenLandmark · Second Amendment rights141 S. Ct. 2111Jun 23, 2022 · 141 S. Ct. 2111Criminal procedureLandmark · Second Amendment rights6–36–3 band
- District of Columbia v. HellerLandmark · Second Amendment rights554 U.S. 570Jun 26, 2008 · 554 U.S. 570Criminal procedureLandmark · Second Amendment rights5–45–4 band
- Charles B. Miller, Superintendent, Pendleton Correctional Facility, et al., v. Richard A. French, et al.530 U.S. 327Jun 19, 2000 · 530 U.S. 327Criminal procedure5–45–4 band
- Scott Leslie Carmell v. Texas529 U.S. 513May 1, 2000 · 529 U.S. 513Criminal procedure5–45–4 band
- Patrick Ramirez v. Indiana471 U.S. 147Apr 1, 1985 · 471 U.S. 147Criminal procedure4–45–4 band
- United States v. Miller471 U.S. 130Apr 1, 1985 · 471 U.S. 130Criminal procedure8–0Unanimous band
- Waller v. Georgia467 U.S. 39May 21, 1984 · 467 U.S. 39Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Payne v. Madigan, Warden366 U.S. 761Jun 5, 1961 · 366 U.S. 761Criminal procedure4–45–4 band
- New York v. O'Neill359 U.S. 1Mar 2, 1959 · 359 U.S. 1Criminal procedure7–27–2 band
- United States v. Sharpnack355 U.S. 286Jan 13, 1958 · 355 U.S. 286Criminal procedure7–27–2 band
- Dowd, Warden, v. United States ex rel. Cook340 U.S. 206Jan 2, 1951 · 340 U.S. 206Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Haupt v. United States330 U.S. 631Mar 31, 1947 · 330 U.S. 631Criminal procedure8–18–1 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.