Laird v. Tatum
408 U.S. 1 · Decided June 26, 1972 · 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
Laird v. Tatum was decided on June 26, 1972 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 408 U.S. 1 · 92 S. Ct. 2318 · 33 L. Ed. 2d 154 · 1972 U.S. LEXIS 25
- Docket number
- 71-288
- Decided
- June 26, 1972
- Argued
- March 27, 1972
- Court era
- Burger 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
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- First Amendment, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Full case caption
Laird, Secretary of Defense, et al. v. Tatum et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1971-159, docket 1971-159-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”
- Healy v. James
- Gravel v. United States
- Branzburg v. Hayes
- Lloyd Corp., Ltd. v. Tanner
- Flower v. United States
- Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Parisi v. Davidson
- Rabe v. Washington
- Cruz v. Beto
- Fein v. Selective Service System Local Board No. 7 of Yonkers
- Gooding v. WilsonLaw held unconstitutional
- Cole v. Richardson
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