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Boddie v. Connecticut

401 U.S. 371 · Decided March 2, 1971 · 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

Boddie v. Connecticut was decided on March 2, 1971 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, costs or filing fees” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
401 U.S. 371 · 91 S. Ct. 780 · 28 L. Ed. 2d 113 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 73
Docket number
27
Decided
March 2, 1971
Argued
December 8, 1969
Reargued
November 17, 1970
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
8–1
Majority opinion
John M. Harlan II
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Held unconstitutional
A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackDissentWrote an opinion
Justice William O. DouglasSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice John M. Harlan IIMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Special concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajority
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajority

Full case caption

Boddie et al. v. Connecticut et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1970-053, docket 1970-053-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)

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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