Anders v. California
386 U.S. 738 · Decided May 8, 1967 · 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
Anders v. California was decided on May 8, 1967 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, appointment of counsel” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 386 U.S. 738 · 87 S. Ct. 1396 · 18 L. Ed. 2d 493 · 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1569
- Docket number
- 98
- Decided
- May 8, 1967
- Argued
- March 14, 1967
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, appointment of counsel
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Anders v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 1966-088, docket 1966-088-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, appointment of counsel”
- Entsminger v. Iowa
- Swenson v. Bosler
- Smith v. Crouse
- Ruark v. Colorado
- Shockey v. Illinois
- Ausbie v. California
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Sailors v. Board of Education of the County of Kent
- Dusch v. Davis
- Reitman v. MulkeyLaw held unconstitutional
- Loving et Ux. v. VirginiaLaw held unconstitutional
- Kilgarlin v. Hill
- Whitus v. Georgia
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Long v. District Court of Iowa in and for Lee County
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Errico
- Fortson v. Morris
- Woodby v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
- Swann v. AdamsLaw held unconstitutional
- Whitus v. Georgia
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