Brown et al. v. Louisiana

Decided February 23, 1966. Abe Fortas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 41 · 383 U.S. 131 (1966) · Cited 466 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

“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.

• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• Garner v. Louisiana · 368 U.S. 157 (1961)
• Wright v. Georgia · 373 U.S. 284 (1963)
• Edwards v. South Carolina · 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
• Terminiello v. Chicago · 337 U.S. 1 (1949)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 559 (1965)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham · 382 U.S. 87 (1965)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Dombrowski v. Pfister · 380 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
• Feiner v. New York · 340 U.S. 315 (1951)
• Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University · 360 U.S. 684 (1959)
• Watson v. City of Memphis · 373 U.S. 526 (1963)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Thomas v. Collins · 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
• Gitlow v. New York · 268 U.S. 652 (1925)
• Whitney v. California · 274 U.S. 357 (1927)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• United States v. Petrillo · 332 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson · 343 U.S. 495 (1952)
• Abrams v. United States · 250 U.S. 616 (1919)
• Niemotko v. Maryland · 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
• Milk Wagon Drivers Union, Local 753 v. Meadowmoor Dairies, Inc. · 312 U.S. 287 (1941)
• Buchanan v. Warley · 245 U.S. 60 (1916)
• Superior Films, Inc. v. Department of Ed. of Ohio · 346 U.S. 587 (1954)

Cited by

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

• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence · 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
• United States v. Grace · 461 U.S. 171 (1983)
• United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations · 453 U.S. 114 (1981)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• Board of Ed., Island Trees Union Free School Dist. No. 26 v. Pico · 457 U.S. 853 (1982)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. · 427 U.S. 50 (1976)
• Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad · 420 U.S. 546 (1975)
• Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. · 392 U.S. 409 (1968)
• Time, Inc. v. Hill · 385 U.S. 374 (1967)
• Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. · 501 U.S. 560 (1991)
• Greer v. Spock · 424 U.S. 828 (1976)
• Cameron v. Johnson · 390 U.S. 611 (1968)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee · 412 U.S. 94 (1973)
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri · 564 U.S. 379 (2011)
• Gregory v. City of Chicago · 394 U.S. 111 (1969)
• Palmer v. Thompson · 403 U.S. 217 (1971)
• Lozman v. Riviera Beach · 585 U.S. 87 (2018)
• Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n · 584 U.S. 617 (2018)

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).