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Sherbert v. Verner

374 U.S. 398 · 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

Sherbert v. Verner was decided on June 17, 1963 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
374 U.S. 398 · 83 S. Ct. 1790 · 10 L. Ed. 2d 965 · 1963 U.S. LEXIS 976
Docket number
526
Decided
June 17, 1963
Argued
April 24, 1963
Court era
Warren Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
7–2
Majority opinion
William J. Brennan Jr.
Opinion assigned by
Earl Warren
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
First Amendment
Legal provision
First Amendment (free exercise of religion)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Held unconstitutional
A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackMajority
Justice William O. DouglasSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Tom C. ClarkMajority
Chief Justice Earl WarrenMajority
Justice John M. Harlan IIDissentWrote an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.MajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Potter StewartSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Byron R. WhiteDissent
Justice Arthur J. GoldbergMajority

Full case caption

Sherbert v. Verner et Al., Members of South Carolina Employment Security Commission, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1962-150, docket 1962-150-01.

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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