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Abood v. Detroit Board of Education

431 U.S. 209 · Decided May 23, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.

At a glance

Abood v. Detroit Board of Education was decided on May 23, 1977 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Union or closed shop” in the Unions area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
431 U.S. 209 · 97 S. Ct. 1782 · 52 L. Ed. 2d 261 · 1977 U.S. LEXIS 91
Docket number
75-1153
Decided
May 23, 1977
Argued
November 9, 1976
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
9–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
Potter Stewart
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
Unions
Legal provision
First Amendment (association)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Majority
Justice Potter StewartMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajority
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerSpecial concurrence
Justice Harry A. BlackmunSpecial concurrence
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Special concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice William H. RehnquistConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice John Paul StevensConcurrenceWrote an opinion

Full case caption

Abood et al. v. Detroit Board of Education et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-108, docket 1976-108-01.

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error