Cowgill v. California
396 U.S. 371 · Decided January 19, 1970 · 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
Cowgill v. California was decided on January 19, 1970 by a vote of 7–1. SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Protest demonstrations” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 396 U.S. 371 · 90 S. Ct. 613 · 24 L. Ed. 2d 590 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 3152
- Docket number
- 496
- Decided
- January 19, 1970
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–1
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Protest demonstrations
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Jurisdictional dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority |
Full case caption
Cowgill v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 1969-029, docket 1969-029-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Protest demonstrations”
- Jones v. State Board of Education of Tennessee
- Bachellar v. Maryland
- Schacht v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
- Street v. New YorkLaw held unconstitutional
- Gregory v. City of Chicago
- Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Bryson v. United States
- Carlos v. New York
- Jones v. State Board of Education of Tennessee
- Cole v. Richardson
- Cain v. Kentucky
- Bachellar v. Maryland
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