Watson et al. v. City of Memphis et al.

Decided May 27, 1963. Arthur Joseph Goldberg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 424 · 373 U.S. 526 (1963) · Cited 280 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.

• Brown v. Board of Education · 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
• Buchanan v. Warley · 245 U.S. 60 (1916)
• Mayor of Baltimore City v. Dawson · 350 U.S. 877 (1955)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Cooper v. Aaron · 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
• Smith v. Allwright · 321 U.S. 649 (1944)
• Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Howard · 343 U.S. 768 (1952)
• Sweatt v. Painter · 339 U.S. 629 (1950)
• Pennsylvania v. Board of Directors of City Trusts of Philadelphia · 353 U.S. 230 (1957)
• Morgan v. Virginia · 328 U.S. 373 (1946)
• McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education · 339 U.S. 637 (1950)
• Boynton v. Virginia · 364 U.S. 454 (1960)

Cited by

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

• Palmer v. Thompson · 403 U.S. 217 (1971)
• WRIGHT Et Al. v. ROCKEFELLER, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, Et Al. · 376 U.S. 52 (1964)
• Evans v. Newton · 382 U.S. 296 (1966)
• Palmore v. Sidoti · 466 U.S. 429 (1984)
• City of Memphis v. Greene · 451 U.S. 100 (1981)
• Brown v. Louisiana · 383 U.S. 131 (1966)
• Bell v. Maryland · 378 U.S. 226 (1964)
• Gilmore v. City of Montgomery · 417 U.S. 556 (1974)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• United States v. Guest · 383 U.S. 745 (1966)
• Bazemore v. Friday · 478 U.S. 385 (1986)
• Johnson v. California · 543 U.S. 499 (2005)
• Spallone v. United States · 493 U.S. 265 (1990)
• San Diego Gas & Electric Co. v. City of San Diego · 450 U.S. 621 (1981)
• Bradley v. School Board of Richmond · 382 U.S. 103 (1965)
• Evans v. Abney · 396 U.S. 435 (1970)
• United States v. Skrmetti · 605 U.S. 495 (2025)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Arthur Joseph Goldberg’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).