Fortson, Secretary of State of Georgia v. Dorsey et al.

Decided January 18, 1965. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 178 · 379 U.S. 433 (1965) · Cited 383 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 8–1.

“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.

• Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
• Gray v. Sanders · 372 U.S. 368 (1963)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• WRIGHT Et Al. v. ROCKEFELLER, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, Et Al. · 376 U.S. 52 (1964)
• South v. Peters · 339 U.S. 276 (1950)

Cited by

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

• City of Mobile v. Bolden · 446 U.S. 55 (1980)
• Whitcomb v. Chavis · 403 U.S. 124 (1971)
• White v. Regester · 412 U.S. 755 (1973)
• Chapman v. Meier · 420 U.S. 1 (1975)
• Davis v. Bandemer · 478 U.S. 109 (1986)
• Thornburg v. Gingles · 478 U.S. 30 (1986)
• Burns v. Richardson · 384 U.S. 73 (1966)
• Vieth v. Jubelirer · 541 U.S. 267 (2004)
• League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry · 548 U.S. 399 (2006)
• Wise v. Lipscomb · 437 U.S. 535 (1978)
• Dusch v. Davis · 387 U.S. 112 (1967)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Moore v. Ogilvie · 394 U.S. 814 (1969)
• Gaffney v. Cummings · 412 U.S. 735 (1973)
• Chisom v. Roemer · 501 U.S. 380 (1991)
• Mahan v. Howell · 410 U.S. 315 (1973)
• United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburgh, Inc. v. Carey · 430 U.S. 144 (1977)
• Connor v. Finch · 431 U.S. 407 (1977)
• Karcher v. Daggett · 462 U.S. 725 (1983)
• Beer v. United States · 425 U.S. 130 (1976)
• Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board · 520 U.S. 471 (1997)
• Connor v. Johnson · 402 U.S. 690 (1971)
• Town of Lockport v. Citizens for Community Action at the Local Level, Inc. · 430 U.S. 259 (1977)
• City of Lockhart v. United States · 460 U.S. 125 (1983)
• Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee · 594 U.S. 647 (2021)

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).