Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al.

Decided May 31, 1955. Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 1 · 349 U.S. 294 (1955) · Cited 1,420 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.

• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Bolling v. Sharpe · 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
• Hecht Co. v. Bowles · 321 U.S. 321 (1944)
• Alexander v. Hillman · 296 U.S. 222 (1935)

Cited by

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

• Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, Denver · 413 U.S. 189 (1973)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• Columbus Board of Education v. Penick · 443 U.S. 449 (1979)
• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)
• United States v. Montgomery County Board of Education · 395 U.S. 225 (1969)
• Green v. County School Board of New Kent County · 391 U.S. 430 (1968)
• Watson v. City of Memphis · 373 U.S. 526 (1963)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 418 U.S. 717 (1974)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)
• United States v. Fordice · 505 U.S. 717 (1992)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• Rufo v. Inmates of Suffolk County Jail · 502 U.S. 367 (1992)
• Board of Ed. of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Dowell · 498 U.S. 237 (1991)
• Palmer v. Thompson · 403 U.S. 217 (1971)
• Missouri v. Jenkins · 495 U.S. 33 (1990)
• Wright v. Council of Emporia · 407 U.S. 451 (1972)
• Raney v. Board of Education of Gould School District · 391 U.S. 443 (1968)
• Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP · 602 U.S. 1 (2024)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. · 392 U.S. 409 (1968)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty. · 377 U.S. 218 (1964)
• Pasadena City Board of Education v. Spangler · 427 U.S. 424 (1976)
• Missouri v. Jenkins · 515 U.S. 70 (1995)
• Goss v. Board of Ed. of Knoxville · 373 U.S. 683 (1963)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Davis v. Passman · 442 U.S. 228 (1979)
• Carlson v. Green · 446 U.S. 14 (1980)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)

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).