Cruz v. Beto

405 U.S. 319 · Decided March 20, 1972 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Cruz v. Beto was decided on March 20, 1972 by a vote of 8–1. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Cruz v. Beto, Corrections Director

SCDB identifiers: case 1971-073, docket 1971-073-01.

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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