Buck v. Bell opinion

E103577

United States Supreme Court opinion judicial decision landmark case in American constitutional law

The Buck v. Bell opinion is a 1927 U.S. Supreme Court decision, authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., that notoriously upheld the constitutionality of compulsory sterilization laws and became a symbol of the excesses of the American eugenics movement.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
Buck v. Bell	9
Buck v. Bell Supreme Court decision	1
Buck v. Bell opinion canonical	1
U.S. Supreme Court decision Buck v. Bell (1927)	1
U.S. Supreme Court decision in Buck v. Bell (1927)	1
Virginia compulsory sterilization statute	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T881420 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Buck v. Bell opinion
Context triple: [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., notableWork, Buck v. Bell opinion]

A. Yick Wo v. Hopkins
Yick Wo v. Hopkins is an 1886 U.S. Supreme Court case that held racially discriminatory enforcement of a facially neutral law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
B. Doe v. Bolton
Doe v. Bolton is a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that, alongside Roe v. Wade, expanded and defined the scope of abortion rights by striking down restrictive state regulations.
C. Bolling v. Sharpe
Bolling v. Sharpe is a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case that held racial segregation in Washington, D.C. public schools unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
D. Brandenburg v. Ohio
Brandenburg v. Ohio is a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court decision that significantly strengthened free speech protections by establishing the "imminent lawless action" test for when advocacy of violence can be punished under the First Amendment.
E. Cohens v. Virginia
Cohens v. Virginia is an 1821 U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed the Court’s authority to review state criminal proceedings involving federal law, strengthening federal judicial power over the states.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Buck v. Bell opinion
Target entity description: The Buck v. Bell opinion is a 1927 U.S. Supreme Court decision, authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., that notoriously upheld the constitutionality of compulsory sterilization laws and became a symbol of the excesses of the American eugenics movement.

A. Yick Wo v. Hopkins
Yick Wo v. Hopkins is an 1886 U.S. Supreme Court case that held racially discriminatory enforcement of a facially neutral law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
B. Doe v. Bolton
Doe v. Bolton is a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that, alongside Roe v. Wade, expanded and defined the scope of abortion rights by striking down restrictive state regulations.
C. Bolling v. Sharpe
Bolling v. Sharpe is a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case that held racial segregation in Washington, D.C. public schools unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
D. Brandenburg v. Ohio
Brandenburg v. Ohio is a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court decision that significantly strengthened free speech protections by establishing the "imminent lawless action" test for when advocacy of violence can be punished under the First Amendment.
E. Cohens v. Virginia
Cohens v. Virginia is an 1821 U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed the Court’s authority to review state criminal proceedings involving federal law, strengthening federal judicial power over the states.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States Supreme Court opinion ⓘ judicial decision ⓘ landmark case in American constitutional law ⓘ
appliedTo	persons deemed "feeble-minded" ⓘ
aroseFrom	Virginia compulsory sterilization statute ⓘ linked to: Buck v. Bell opinion
citedBy	Skinner v. Oklahoma ⓘ
concernsInstitution	Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded ⓘ
concernsPerson	Carrie Buck ⓘ
hasAuthor	Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ⓘ
hasCaseName	Buck v. Bell ⓘ linked to: Buck v. Bell opinion
hasCitation	274 U.S. 200 ⓘ
hasConstitutionalProvisionConsidered	Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ linked to: Fourteenth Amendment
hasCountry	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
hasCourt	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
hasDecisionDate	May 2, 1927 ⓘ
hasDissentingJustice	Pierce Butler ⓘ
hasDocketNumber	No. 292 ⓘ
hasEra	Lochner era ⓘ
hasFamousQuote	"Three generations of imbeciles are enough." ⓘ
hasHistoricalReputation	one of the most criticized decisions in Supreme Court history ⓘ symbol of the excesses of American eugenics ⓘ
hasJurisdiction	Commonwealth of Virginia ⓘ linked to: Virginia
hasLanguage	English ⓘ
hasLegalField	civil liberties ⓘ constitutional law ⓘ health law ⓘ
hasLegalIssue	constitutionality of compulsory sterilization ⓘ
hasMajorityOpinionBy	Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ⓘ
hasPage	200 ⓘ
hasPetitioner	Carrie Buck ⓘ
hasProceduralPosture	appeal from the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia ⓘ
hasReporter	United States Reports ⓘ
hasRespondent	John Hendren Bell ⓘ
hasRespondentRole	Superintendent of the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded ⓘ
hasRightImplicated	due process of law ⓘ equal protection of the laws ⓘ
hasStatus	never formally overruled ⓘ
hasSubjectMatter	disability rights ⓘ forced sterilization ⓘ reproductive rights ⓘ
hasSubsequentTreatment	effectively discredited by later substantive due process jurisprudence ⓘ
hasVolume	274 ⓘ
hasVote	8–1 ⓘ
held	Virginia sterilization law was constitutional ⓘ compulsory sterilization of the unfit did not violate the U.S. Constitution ⓘ
influenced	state sterilization programs in the United States ⓘ
relatesTo	eugenics movement in the United States ⓘ police power of the states ⓘ substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ

How these facts were elicited