Morris et al. v. Gressette, President Pro Tem, South Carolina Senate, et al.

Decided June 20, 1977. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-1583 · 432 U.S. 491 (1977) · Cited 210 times

Holding

The objection interposed by the Attorney General to the new plan on July 20, 1973, nunc pro tunc, is invalid, and therefore South Carolina is free to implement such plan.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Georgia v. United States · 411 U.S. 526 (1973)
• South Carolina v. Katzenbach · 383 U.S. 301 (1966)
• Allen v. State Board of Elections · 393 U.S. 544 (1969)
• Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner · 387 U.S. 136 (1967)
• Dunlop v. Bachowski · 421 U.S. 560 (1975)
• Barlow v. Collins · 397 U.S. 159 (1970)
• Association of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc. v. Camp · 397 U.S. 150 (1970)
• United States v. United Mine Workers of America · 330 U.S. 258 (1947)
• Switchmen's Union v. National Mediation Board · 320 U.S. 297 (1943)
• East Carroll Parish School Board v. Marshall · 424 U.S. 636 (1976)
• Beer v. United States · 425 U.S. 130 (1976)
• City of Richmond v. United States · 422 U.S. 358 (1975)
• Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe · 401 U.S. 402 (1971)
• United States v. Nixon · 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
• United States Ex Rel. Accardi v. Shaughnessy · 347 U.S. 260 (1954)
• Service v. Dulles · 354 U.S. 363 (1957)
• Vitarelli v. Seaton · 359 U.S. 535 (1959)
• United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburgh, Inc. v. Carey · 430 U.S. 144 (1977)
• Perkins v. Matthews · 400 U.S. 379 (1971)

Cited by

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

• Block v. Community Nutrition Institute · 467 U.S. 340 (1984)
• Georgia v. Ashcroft, Attorney General · 539 U.S. 461 (2003)
• Branch v. Smith · 538 U.S. 254 (2003)
• McDaniel v. Sanchez · 452 U.S. 130 (1981)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Heckler v. Ringer · 466 U.S. 602 (1984)
• Bowen v. Michigan Academy of Family Physicians · 476 U.S. 667 (1986)
• Franklin v. Massachusetts · 505 U.S. 788 (1992)
• Shaw v. Reno · 509 U.S. 630 (1993)
• League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry · 548 U.S. 399 (2006)
• Southern Railway Co. v. Seaboard Allied Milling Corp. · 442 U.S. 444 (1979)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1977). 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).