Eisenstadt, Sheriff v. Baird

Decided March 22, 1972. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 70-17 · 405 U.S. 438 (1972) · Cited 1,851 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 6–1.

“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.

• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Giboney v. Empire Storage & Ice Co. · 336 U.S. 490 (1949)
• Thomas v. Collins · 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
• Stanley v. Georgia · 394 U.S. 557 (1969)
• Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
• Terminiello v. Chicago · 337 U.S. 1 (1949)
• Barrows v. Jackson · 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
• Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York · 336 U.S. 106 (1949)
• Brown v. Louisiana · 383 U.S. 131 (1966)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Shapiro v. Thompson · 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Prince v. Massachusetts · 321 U.S. 158 (1944)
• Olmstead v. United States · 277 U.S. 438 (1928)
• Loving v. Virginia · 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Skinner v. Oklahoma Ex Rel. Williamson · 316 U.S. 535 (1942)
• Lindsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co. · 220 U.S. 61 (1911)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• Jacobson v. Massachusetts · 197 U.S. 11 (1905)
• F. S. Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia · 253 U.S. 412 (1920)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania · 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
• Williams v. North Carolina · 317 U.S. 287 (1943)

Cited by

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

• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Obergefell v. Hodges · 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton · 413 U.S. 49 (1973)
• Bowers v. Hardwick · 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
• Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)
• Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States · 491 U.S. 617 (1989)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)
• Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth · 428 U.S. 52 (1976)
• Michael H. v. Gerald D. · 491 U.S. 110 (1989)
• California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz · 416 U.S. 21 (1974)
• Gonzales v. Carhart · 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• Washington v. Glucksberg · 521 U.S. 702 (1997)
• Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co. · 467 U.S. 947 (1984)
• United States Department of Agriculture v. Moreno · 413 U.S. 528 (1973)
• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• City of Los Angeles v. Lyons · 461 U.S. 95 (1983)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Powers v. Ohio · 499 U.S. 400 (1991)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• 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).