Cite as: 506 U. S. 263 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
which the Court specifically denied supplemental briefing.12
That is extraordinary. See, e. g., R. A. V. v. St. Paul, 505 U. S. 377, 381-382, n. 3 (1992) (citing cases and treatises); Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc., 500 U. S. 90, 97, n. 4 (1991); Browning-Ferris Industries of Vt., Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc., 492 U. S. 257, 277, and n. 23 (1989).
The dissenters' zeal to reach the question whether there was a "hindrance"-clause violation would be more understandable, perhaps, if the affirmative answer they provided were an easy one. It is far from that. Judging from the statutory text, a cause of action under the "hindrance" clause would seem to require the same "class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus" that the "deprivation" clause requires, and that we have found lacking here. We said in Griffin that the source of the animus requirement is "[t]he language requiring intent to deprive of equal protection, or equal privileges and immunities," 403 U. S., at 102 (emphasis in original)—and such language appears in the "hindrance" clause as well.13 At oral argument, respondents conceded applicability of the animus requirement, though they with-12 We are unable to grasp the logic whereby Justice Souter, who would have us conclusively resolve the "hindrance"-clause legal issue against petitioners (despite their lack of opportunity to address it, both here and below), criticizes our opinion, see post, at 291-292, for merely suggesting (without resolving the "hindrance"-clause issue) the difficulties that inhere in his approach.
13 In straining to argue that the "hindrance" clause does not have the same animus requirement as the first clause of § 1985(3), Justice Stevens makes an argument extrapolating from the reasoning of Kush v. Rutledge, 460 U. S. 719 (1983), which held that the animus requirement expounded in Griffin did not apply to a claim under the first clause of § 1985(2). Post, at 340-342. But the heart of Kush—what the case itself considered "of greatest importance"—was the fact that Griffin's animus requirement rested on "the 'equal protection' language" of § 1985(3), which the first clause of § 1985(2) did not contain. 460 U. S., at 726. Since the "hindrance" clause of § 1985(3) does contain that language, the straightforward application of Kush to this case is quite the opposite of what Justice Stevens asserts.
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