Lee v. Madigan
358 U.S. 228 · Decided January 12, 1959 · 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
Lee v. Madigan was decided on January 12, 1959 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Military, active duty” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 358 U.S. 228 · 79 S. Ct. 276 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 260 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 1658
- Docket number
- 42
- Decided
- January 12, 1959
- Argued
- December 9, 1958
- 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
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Military, active duty
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 10 U.S.C. § 1564
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| 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 Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Did not participate: Felix Frankfurter.
Full case caption
Lee v. Madigan, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-027, docket 1958-027-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Military, active duty”
- Marshall v. Brucker
- Harmon v. Brucker
- Kinsella v. United States ex Rel. SingletonLaw held unconstitutional
- Grisham v. HaganLaw held unconstitutional
- McElroy v. United States ex Rel. GuagliardoLaw held unconstitutional
- Wilson v. Girard
Cases on the same legal provision: 10 U.S.C. § 1564
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Aaron v. Cooper
- Cooper v. Aaron
- Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham Board of Education of Jefferson County
- Evers v. Dwyer
- Williams et Ux. v. Lee
- Tak Shan Fong v. United States
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