Bell et al. v. Maryland

Decided June 22, 1964. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 12 · 378 U.S. 226 (1964) · Cited 326 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Shelley v. Kraemer · 334 U.S. 1 (1948)
• Civil Rights Cases · 109 U.S. 3 (1883)
• Buchanan v. Warley · 245 U.S. 60 (1916)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Dorchy v. Kansas · 264 U.S. 286 (1924)
• Lombard v. Louisiana · 373 U.S. 267 (1963)
• Munn v. Illinois · 94 U.S. 113 (1877)
• Peterson v. City of Greenville · 373 U.S. 244 (1963)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Marsh v. Alabama · 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
• Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
• Edwards v. California · 314 U.S. 160 (1941)
• United States v. Classic · 313 U.S. 299 (1941)
• Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority · 365 U.S. 715 (1961)
• Strauder v. West Virginia · 100 U.S. 303 (1880)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• United States v. White · 322 U.S. 694 (1944)
• Kent v. Dulles · 357 U.S. 116 (1958)
• Terry v. Adams · 345 U.S. 461 (1953)
• Virginia v. Rives · 100 U.S. 313 (1880)
• Watson v. City of Memphis · 373 U.S. 526 (1963)
• Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad · 118 U.S. 394 (1886)
• Patterson v. Alabama · 294 U.S. 600 (1935)
• Connecticut General Life Insurance v. Johnson · 303 U.S. 77 (1938)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Griffin v. Illinois · 351 U.S. 12 (1956)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Hamm v. City of Rock Hill · 379 U.S. 306 (1964)
• United States v. Guest · 383 U.S. 745 (1966)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• Reitman v. Mulkey · 387 U.S. 369 (1967)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• Giles v. Maryland · 386 U.S. 66 (1967)
• Daniel v. Paul · 395 U.S. 298 (1969)
• Benton v. Maryland · 395 U.S. 784 (1969)
• Flagg Bros., Inc. v. Brooks · 436 U.S. 149 (1978)
• Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. · 392 U.S. 409 (1968)
• South Carolina v. Katzenbach · 383 U.S. 301 (1966)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 559 (1965)
• Allen v. State Board of Elections · 393 U.S. 544 (1969)
• Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. · 515 U.S. 557 (1995)
• Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic · 506 U.S. 263 (1993)
• Evans v. Newton · 382 U.S. 296 (1966)
• Zschernig v. Miller · 389 U.S. 429 (1968)
• Bradley v. United States · 410 U.S. 605 (1973)
• Evansville-Vanderburgh Airport Authority District v. Delta Airlines, Inc. · 405 U.S. 707 (1972)
• Pipefitters Local Union No. 562 v. United States · 407 U.S. 385 (1972)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).