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Britt v. North Carolina

404 U.S. 226 · Decided December 13, 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

Britt v. North Carolina was decided on December 13, 1971 by a vote of 5–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, transcripts” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
404 U.S. 226 · 92 S. Ct. 431 · 30 L. Ed. 2d 400 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 7
Docket number
70-5041
Decided
December 13, 1971
Argued
October 14, 1971
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
5–2
Majority opinion
Thurgood Marshall
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William O. DouglasDissentWrote an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Dissent
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajorityWrote an opinion
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion

Full case caption

Britt v. North Carolina

SCDB identifiers: case 1971-022, docket 1971-022-01.

Other cases on “Indigents, transcripts”

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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)

  • Schilb v. Kuebel
    404 U.S. 357Decided December 20, 19714–3Harry A. Blackmun
  • Reed v. ReedLaw held unconstitutional
    404 U.S. 71Decided November 22, 19717–0Warren E. Burger
  • Connor v. Williams
    404 U.S. 549Decided January 24, 19729–0Per curiam
  • Bullock v. CarterLaw held unconstitutional
    405 U.S. 134Decided February 24, 19727–0Warren E. Burger
  • Dunn v. BlumsteinAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
    405 U.S. 330Decided March 21, 19726–1Thurgood Marshall
  • Eisenstadt v. BairdLaw held unconstitutional
    405 U.S. 438Decided March 22, 19726–1William J. Brennan Jr.

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

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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