Torcaso v. Watkins, Clerk

Decided June 19, 1961. Hugo Lafayette Black delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 373 · 367 U.S. 488 (1961) · Cited 547 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 9–0.

“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.

• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Wieman v. Updegraff · 344 U.S. 183 (1952)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Reynolds v. United States · 98 U.S. 145 (1879)
• Girouard v. United States · 328 U.S. 61 (1946)
• Fowler v. Rhode Island · 345 U.S. 67 (1953)

Cited by

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

• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
• Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer · 582 U.S. 449 (2017)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Welsh v. United States · 398 U.S. 333 (1970)
• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois · 497 U.S. 62 (1990)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Town of Greece v. Galloway · 572 U.S. 565 (2014)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Gillette v. United States · 401 U.S. 437 (1971)
• Shurtleff v. Boston · 596 U.S. 243 (2022)
• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• Perry v. Sindermann · 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
• Elrod v. Burns · 427 U.S. 347 (1976)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Cruz v. Beto · 405 U.S. 319 (1972)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Baggett v. Bullitt · 377 U.S. 360 (1964)
• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education · 431 U.S. 209 (1977)

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).