South Carolina v. Katzenbach, Attorney General

Decided March 7, 1966. Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 22 ORIG · 383 U.S. 301 (1966) · Cited 945 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.

• Louisiana v. United States · 380 U.S. 145 (1965)
• Gomillion v. Lightfoot · 364 U.S. 339 (1960)
• Katzenbach v. McClung · 379 U.S. 294 (1964)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• Ex Parte Virginia · 100 U.S. 339 (1880)
• Smith v. Allwright · 321 U.S. 649 (1944)
• Terry v. Adams · 345 U.S. 461 (1953)
• Lane v. Wilson · 307 U.S. 268 (1939)
• United States v. Mississippi · 380 U.S. 128 (1965)
• Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections · 360 U.S. 45 (1959)
• Guinn v. United States · 238 U.S. 347 (1915)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Yakus v. United States · 321 U.S. 414 (1944)
• Home Building & Loan Assn. v. Blaisdell · 290 U.S. 398 (1934)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• United States v. Darby · 312 U.S. 100 (1941)
• Tot v. United States · 319 U.S. 463 (1943)
• Hirabayashi v. United States · 320 U.S. 81 (1943)
• Hannah v. Larche · 363 U.S. 420 (1960)
• Ex Parte Garland · 71 U.S. 333 (1867)
• Carrington v. Rash · 380 U.S. 89 (1965)
• Carlson v. Landon · 342 U.S. 524 (1952)
• Bowles v. Willingham · 321 U.S. 503 (1944)
• Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York · 336 U.S. 106 (1949)
• Switchmen's Union v. National Mediation Board · 320 U.S. 297 (1943)

Cited by

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

• Shelby County v. Holder · 570 U.S. 529 (2013)
• City of Rome v. United States · 446 U.S. 156 (1980)
• Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder · 557 U.S. 193 (2009)
• Oregon v. Mitchell · 400 U.S. 112 (1970)
• Presley v. Etowah County Commission · 502 U.S. 491 (1992)
• United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburgh, Inc. v. Carey · 430 U.S. 144 (1977)
• Beer v. United States · 425 U.S. 130 (1976)
• Briscoe v. Bell · 432 U.S. 404 (1977)
• Tennessee v. Lane · 541 U.S. 509 (2004)
• United States v. Sheffield Bd. of Comm'rs · 435 U.S. 110 (1978)
• Morris v. Gressette · 432 U.S. 491 (1977)
• Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board · 528 U.S. 320 (2000)
• Allen v. State Board of Elections · 393 U.S. 544 (1969)
• Miller v. Johnson · 515 U.S. 900 (1995)
• Perkins v. Matthews · 400 U.S. 379 (1971)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)
• Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
• Georgia v. United States · 411 U.S. 526 (1973)
• Dougherty County Bd. of Ed. v. White · 439 U.S. 32 (1978)
• Riley v. Kennedy · 553 U.S. 406 (2008)
• Allen v. Milligan · 599 U.S. 1 (2023)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• McDaniel v. Sanchez · 452 U.S. 130 (1981)
• Gaston County v. United States · 395 U.S. 285 (1969)
• Katzenbach v. Morgan · 384 U.S. 641 (1966)
• Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board · 520 U.S. 471 (1997)
• City of Lockhart v. United States · 460 U.S. 125 (1983)
• Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee · 594 U.S. 647 (2021)
• Shaw v. Reno · 509 U.S. 630 (1993)

Official text

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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).