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Head v. New Mexico Board of Examiners in Optometry

374 U.S. 424 · Decided June 17, 1963 · 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

Head v. New Mexico Board of Examiners in Optometry was decided on June 17, 1963 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, miscellaneous” in the Federalism area.

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Case details

Citations
374 U.S. 424 · 83 S. Ct. 1759 · 10 L. Ed. 2d 983 · 1963 U.S. LEXIS 977
Docket number
392
Decided
June 17, 1963
Argued
April 15, 1963
Court era
Warren Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
9–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
Potter Stewart
Opinion assigned by
Earl Warren
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
Federalism
Legal provision
Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)
Type of law
Constitution
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackMajority
Justice William O. DouglasSpecial concurrence
Justice Tom C. ClarkMajority
Chief Justice Earl WarrenMajority
Justice John M. Harlan IIMajority
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Special concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Potter StewartMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Arthur J. GoldbergMajority

Full case caption

Head, Doing Business as Lea County Publishing Co., et al. v. New Mexico Board of Examiners in Optometry

SCDB identifiers: case 1962-151, docket 1962-151-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)

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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