Bell v. Burson, Director, Georgia Department of Public Safety

Decided May 24, 1971. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 5586 · 402 U.S. 535 (1971) · Cited 2,202 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 9–0.

“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.

• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp. of Bay View · 395 U.S. 337 (1969)
• Opp Cotton Mills, Inc. v. Administrator of the Wage & Hour Division of the Department of Labor · 312 U.S. 126 (1941)
• Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. · 339 U.S. 306 (1950)
• Gideon v. Wainwright · 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
• Shapiro v. Thompson · 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
• Armstrong v. Manzo · 380 U.S. 545 (1965)
• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• Wisconsin v. Constantineau · 400 U.S. 433 (1971)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• Hess v. Pawloski · 274 U.S. 352 (1927)
• Slochower v. Board of Higher Ed. of New York City · 350 U.S. 551 (1956)
• Ex Parte Poresky · 290 U.S. 30 (1933)
• Ewing v. Mytinger & Casselberry, Inc. · 339 U.S. 594 (1950)
• Frost & Frost Trucking Co. v. Railroad Comm'n of Cal. · 271 U.S. 583 (1926)
• Londoner v. City and County of Denver · 210 U.S. 373 (1908)
• Fahey v. Mallonee · 332 U.S. 245 (1947)
• Willner v. Committee on Character and Fitness, Appellate Div. of Supreme Court of NY, First Judicial Dept. · 373 U.S. 96 (1963)
• Goldsmith v. United States Board of Tax Appeals · 270 U.S. 117 (1926)
• Continental Baking Co. v. Woodring · 286 U.S. 352 (1932)

Cited by

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

• Arnett v. Kennedy · 416 U.S. 134 (1974)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• MacKey v. Montrym · 443 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Barry v. Barchi · 443 U.S. 55 (1979)
• Dixon v. Love · 431 U.S. 105 (1977)
• Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co. · 455 U.S. 422 (1982)
• Vlandis v. Kline · 412 U.S. 441 (1973)
• Texaco, Inc. v. Short · 454 U.S. 516 (1982)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill · 470 U.S. 532 (1985)
• Mitchell v. W. T. Grant Co. · 416 U.S. 600 (1974)
• United States Department of Agriculture v. Murry · 413 U.S. 508 (1973)
• Wolff v. McDonnell · 418 U.S. 539 (1974)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Reno v. Flores · 507 U.S. 292 (1993)
• Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales · 545 U.S. 748 (2005)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Paul v. Davis · 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
• Elrod v. Burns · 427 U.S. 347 (1976)
• Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
• Collins v. City of Harker Heights · 503 U.S. 115 (1992)
• Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Evitts v. Lucey · 469 U.S. 387 (1985)
• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Davis v. Scherer · 468 U.S. 183 (1984)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)

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).