Milliken, Governor of Michigan, et al. v. Bradley et al.

Decided July 25, 1974. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-434 · 418 U.S. 717 (1974) · Cited 695 times

Holding

The relief ordered by the District Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeals was based upon erroneous standards and was unsupported by record evidence that acts of the outlying districts had any impact on the discrimination found to exist in the Detroit schools.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“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)
• Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, Denver · 413 U.S. 189 (1973)
• Green v. County School Board of New Kent County · 391 U.S. 430 (1968)
• Wright v. Council of Emporia · 407 U.S. 451 (1972)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• United States v. Scotland Neck City Board of Education · 407 U.S. 484 (1972)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
• Davis v. Board of School Comm'rs of Mobile Cty. · 402 U.S. 33 (1971)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Plessy v. Ferguson · 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
• Monroe v. Board of Commissioners of Jackson · 391 U.S. 450 (1968)
• Gomillion v. Lightfoot · 364 U.S. 339 (1960)
• Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
• North Carolina State Board of Education v. Swann · 402 U.S. 43 (1971)
• Shelley v. Kraemer · 334 U.S. 1 (1948)
• Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15 · 395 U.S. 621 (1969)
• Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty. · 377 U.S. 218 (1964)
• Virginia v. Rives · 100 U.S. 313 (1880)
• Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education · 396 U.S. 19 (1969)
• Carter v. West Feliciana Parish School Board · 396 U.S. 290 (1970)
• Raney v. Board of Education of Gould School District · 391 U.S. 443 (1968)
• Pennsylvania v. Board of Directors of City Trusts of Philadelphia · 353 U.S. 230 (1957)

Cited by

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

• Missouri v. Jenkins · 515 U.S. 70 (1995)
• Hills v. Gautreaux · 425 U.S. 284 (1976)
• Washington v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 458 U.S. 457 (1982)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)
• Columbus Board of Education v. Penick · 443 U.S. 449 (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)
• Martin v. Wilks · 490 U.S. 755 (1989)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Martinez Ex Rel. Morales v. Bynum · 461 U.S. 321 (1983)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Rufo v. Inmates of Suffolk County Jail · 502 U.S. 367 (1992)
• General Building Contractors Assn., Inc. v. Pennsylvania · 458 U.S. 375 (1982)
• Rogers v. Lodge · 458 U.S. 613 (1982)
• Freeman v. Pitts · 503 U.S. 467 (1992)
• City of Rome v. United States · 446 U.S. 156 (1980)
• Beal v. Doe · 432 U.S. 438 (1977)
• Missouri v. Jenkins · 495 U.S. 33 (1990)
• United States v. Fordice · 505 U.S. 717 (1992)
• Agency for Int'l Development v. Alliance for Open Society · 591 U.S. 430 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). 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).