Paul v. Davis

424 U.S. 693 · Decided March 23, 1976 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Paul v. Davis was decided on March 23, 1976 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Liability under civil rights acts” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: John Paul Stevens.

Full case caption

Paul, Chief of Police, Louisville, et al. v. Davis

SCDB identifiers: case 1975-056, docket 1975-056-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)

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Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

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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