Griffin v. Maryland
378 U.S. 130 · Decided June 22, 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
Griffin v. Maryland was decided on June 22, 1964 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Sit-in demonstrations against racial discrimination” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 378 U.S. 130 · 84 S. Ct. 1770 · 12 L. Ed. 2d 754 · 1964 U.S. LEXIS 818
- Docket number
- 6
- Decided
- June 22, 1964
- Argued
- November 5, 1962
- Reargued
- October 14, 1963
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- 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 | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Majority |
Full case caption
Griffin et al. v. Maryland
SCDB identifiers: case 1963-152, docket 1963-152-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Sit-in demonstrations against racial discrimination”
- Barr v. City of Columbia
- Robinson v. Florida
- Bell v. Maryland
- Bouie v. City of Columbia
- Drews v. Maryland
- Green v. Virginia
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Reynolds v. SimsLaw held unconstitutional
- Wmca, Inc. v. LomenzoLaw held unconstitutional
- Maryland Committee for Fair Representation v. TawesLaw held unconstitutional
- Davis v. MannLaw held unconstitutional
- Roman v. SincockLaw held unconstitutional
- Lucas v. Forty-Fourth General Assembly of ColoradoLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Shockey v. Illinois
- Ausbie v. California
- Daegele v. Kansas
- Herrear v. Heinze
- Tabb v. California
- Foti v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
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