Gardner v. California
393 U.S. 367 · Decided January 20, 1969 · 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
Gardner v. California was decided on January 20, 1969 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, transcripts” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 393 U.S. 367 · 89 S. Ct. 580 · 21 L. Ed. 2d 601 · 1969 U.S. LEXIS 2780
- Docket number
- 73
- Decided
- January 20, 1969
- Argued
- November 20, 1968
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, transcripts
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| 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 Abe Fortas | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority |
Full case caption
Gardner v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 1968-033, docket 1968-033-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
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- Johnson v. Avery
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- Shapiro v. ThompsonLaw held unconstitutional
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- Hunter v. EricksonLaw held unconstitutional
- Alabama State Teachers Assn. v. Alabama Public School and College Authority
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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