Dayton v. Dulles
357 U.S. 144 · Decided June 16, 1958 · 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
Dayton v. Dulles was decided on June 16, 1958 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Internal security legislation” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 357 U.S. 144 · 78 S. Ct. 1127 · 2 L. Ed. 2d 1221 · 1958 U.S. LEXIS 815
- Docket number
- 621
- Decided
- June 16, 1958
- Argued
- April 10, 1958
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Internal security legislation
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 22 U.S.C. § 211
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Dissent |
Full case caption
Dayton v. Dulles, Secretary of State
SCDB identifiers: case 1957-122, docket 1957-122-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Internal security legislation”
- Kent v. Dulles
- Rowoldt v. Perfetto
- Yates v. United States
- Cole v. Young
- Communist Party of the United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board
- Pennsylvania v. Nelson
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Rowoldt v. Perfetto
- Barr v. Matteo
- Staub v. City of BaxleyLaw held unconstitutional
- Sacher v. United States
- Kent v. Dulles
- Beilan v. Board of Public Education
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