Keyes et al. v. School District No. 1, Denver, Colorado, et al.

Decided June 21, 1973. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-507 · 413 U.S. 189 (1973) · Cited 667 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 7–1.

“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.

• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education · 402 U.S. 1 (1971)
• Green v. County School Board of New Kent County · 391 U.S. 430 (1968)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Davis v. Board of School Comm'rs of Mobile Cty. · 402 U.S. 33 (1971)
• Hernandez v. Texas · 347 U.S. 475 (1954)
• McGinnis v. Royster · 410 U.S. 263 (1973)
• Palmer v. Thompson · 403 U.S. 217 (1971)
• Wright v. Council of Emporia · 407 U.S. 451 (1972)
• Neil v. Biggers · 409 U.S. 188 (1972)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Connally v. General Construction Co. · 269 U.S. 385 (1926)
• Plessy v. Ferguson · 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
• Nye & Nissen v. United States · 336 U.S. 613 (1949)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 411 U.S. 192 (1973)
• Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education · 396 U.S. 19 (1969)
• Monroe v. Board of Commissioners of Jackson · 391 U.S. 450 (1968)
• Raney v. Board of Education of Gould School District · 391 U.S. 443 (1968)
• United States v. Montgomery County Board of Education · 395 U.S. 225 (1969)
• Bradley v. School Board of Richmond · 382 U.S. 103 (1965)

Cited by

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

• Columbus Board of Education v. Penick · 443 U.S. 449 (1979)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 418 U.S. 717 (1974)
• Freeman v. Pitts · 503 U.S. 467 (1992)
• Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman · 443 U.S. 526 (1979)
• Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman · 433 U.S. 406 (1977)
• Board of Ed. of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Dowell · 498 U.S. 237 (1991)
• Washington v. Davis · 426 U.S. 229 (1976)
• Missouri v. Jenkins · 515 U.S. 70 (1995)
• City of Mobile v. Bolden · 446 U.S. 55 (1980)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• United States v. Fordice · 505 U.S. 717 (1992)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. · 429 U.S. 252 (1977)
• Hernandez v. New York · 500 U.S. 352 (1991)
• Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs v. Sanders · 556 U.S. 396 (2009)
• County of Los Angeles v. Davis · 440 U.S. 625 (1979)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Bazemore v. Friday · 478 U.S. 385 (1986)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• United States v. Paradise · 480 U.S. 149 (1987)
• Washington v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 458 U.S. 457 (1982)
• Ambach v. Norwick · 441 U.S. 68 (1979)
• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)

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).