Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
347 U.S. 483 · Decided May 17, 1954 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was decided on May 17, 1954 unanimously (9–0). SCDB codes the disposition as “stay, petition, or motion granted.” Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “School desegregation” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 347 U.S. 483 · 74 S. Ct. 686 · 98 L. Ed. 2d 873 · 1954 U.S. LEXIS 2094
- Docket number
- 1
- Decided
- May 17, 1954
- Argued
- December 8, 1952
- Reargued
- December 7, 1953
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Stay, petition, or motion granted
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- School desegregation
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Held unconstitutional
- A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1953-069, docket 1953-069-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “School desegregation”
- Bolling v. SharpeLaw held unconstitutional
- Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
- Lucy v. Adams
- Florida ex Rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control of Florida
- Briggs v. Elliott
- Pennsylvania v. Board of Directors of City Trusts of the City of Philadelphia
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Hernandez v. Texas
- Salsburg v. Maryland
- Watson et Ux. v. Employers Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd.
- Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc.
- Avery v. Georgia
- Williams v. Georgia
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Tom We Shung v. Brownell
- International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union v. Boyd
- United States ex Rel. Accardi v. Shaughnessy
- Hernandez v. Texas
- Bolling v. SharpeLaw held unconstitutional
- Galvan v. Press
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