CaseTrail

Milliken v. Bradley

418 U.S. 717 · Decided July 25, 1974 · 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

Milliken v. Bradley was decided on July 25, 1974 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “School desegregation” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
418 U.S. 717 · 94 S. Ct. 3112 · 41 L. Ed. 2d 1069 · 1974 U.S. LEXIS 94
Docket number
73-434
Decided
July 25, 1974
Argued
February 27, 1974
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
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 area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William O. DouglasDissentWrote an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Dissent
Justice Potter StewartConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Byron R. WhiteDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Thurgood MarshallDissentWrote an opinion
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajority
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Majority
Justice William H. RehnquistMajority

Full case caption

Milliken, Governor of Michigan, et al. v. Bradley et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1973-173, docket 1973-173-01.

Other cases on “School desegregation”

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

See all

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