Zivotofsky v. Clinton

E903976

Zivotofsky v. Clinton is a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case that limited the scope of the political question doctrine by allowing courts to review a dispute over the recognition of Jerusalem in U.S. passports.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Zivotofsky v. Kerry 2

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
legal case
citation 132 S. Ct. 1421
182 L. Ed. 2d 423
566 U.S. 189
clarifiedDoctrine courts may decide cases requiring interpretation of statutes even when they touch on foreign policy recognition issues
political question doctrine is narrow and limited
concernsCountry Israel NERFINISHED
concernsGovernmentAction U.S. recognition policy regarding Jerusalem
concernsLocation Jerusalem NERFINISHED
concurringInJudgmentBy Justice Stephen G. Breyer NERFINISHED
court Supreme Court of the United States
dateArgued 2011-11-07
dateDecided 2012-03-26
decisionType vacated and remanded
dissentingBy Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg NERFINISHED
Justice Stephen G. Breyer NERFINISHED
docketNumber 10-699
governmentPosition State Department refused to list “Israel” as place of birth for U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem
hasParty Hillary Rodham Clinton NERFINISHED
Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky NERFINISHED
hasPartyRole Hillary Rodham Clinton – respondent NERFINISHED
Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky – petitioner NERFINISHED
involvesStatute Section 214(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 NERFINISHED
jurisdiction United States federal courts NERFINISHED
legalIssue passport designation of place of birth
political question doctrine
recognition power in foreign affairs
separation of powers
lowerCourtHolding claim presented a nonjusticiable political question
majorityJustices Anthony M. Kennedy NERFINISHED
Antonin Scalia NERFINISHED
Clarence Thomas NERFINISHED
Elena Kagan NERFINISHED
John G. Roberts, Jr. NERFINISHED
Samuel A. Alito, Jr. NERFINISHED
Sonia Sotomayor NERFINISHED
majorityOpinionBy Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. NERFINISHED
originatingCourt United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit NERFINISHED
originatingCourtDecision Zivotofsky v. Secretary of State, 571 F.3d 122 (D.C. Cir. 2009) NERFINISHED
overruledLowerCourtOn application of political question doctrine
plaintiffClaim right to have “Israel” listed as place of birth on U.S. passport
subjectMatter constitutional law
foreign relations law of the United States
subsequentRelatedCase Zivotofsky v. Kerry NERFINISHED
subsequentRelatedCaseCitation 576 U.S. 1
SupremeCourtHolding case does not present a political question beyond the competence of the courts
federal courts have authority to decide the constitutionality of Section 214(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003
termOfCourt October Term 2011

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

October Term 2013 hasPart Zivotofsky v. Clinton
this entity surface form: Zivotofsky v. Kerry
October Term 2011 heardCase Zivotofsky v. Clinton
political question doctrine leadingCase Zivotofsky v. Clinton
political question doctrine leadingCase Zivotofsky v. Clinton
this entity surface form: Zivotofsky v. Kerry