Donovan v. City of Dallas
377 U.S. 408 · Decided June 8, 1964 · 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
Donovan v. City of Dallas was decided on June 8, 1964 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, miscellaneous” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 377 U.S. 408 · 84 S. Ct. 1579 · 12 L. Ed. 2d 409 · 1964 U.S. LEXIS 1070
- Docket number
- 264
- Decided
- June 8, 1964
- Argued
- April 22, 1964
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- National supremacy, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Majority |
Full case caption
Donovan et al. v. City of Dallas et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1963-133, docket 1963-133-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
- Sears v. Stiffel CompanyLaw held unconstitutional
- Compco Corporation v. Day-Brite Lighting, Inc.
- Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul
- Free v. BlandLaw held unconstitutional
- Kesler v. Department of Public Safety of Utah
- Federal Land Bank of Wichita v. Board of County Commissioners of Kiowa CountyLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Retail Clerks International Association v. Schermerhorn
- Liner v. Jafco, Inc.
- Yiatchos v. Yiatchos
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- Local 20 v. Morton
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