Terry v. Adams
345 U.S. 461 · Decided May 4, 1953 · 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
Terry v. Adams was decided on May 4, 1953 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Voting” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 345 U.S. 461 · 73 S. Ct. 809 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 1152 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2603
- Docket number
- 52
- Decided
- May 4, 1953
- Argued
- January 16, 1953
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Voting
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fifteenth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Terry et al. v. Adams et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-084, docket 1952-084-01.
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Other cases on “Voting”
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- Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections
- United States v. RainesAltered precedent
- United States v. Thomas
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Mandoli v. Acheson
- Bailess v. Paukune
- Orloff v. Willoughby
- Ramspeck v. Federal Trial Examiners Conference
- Heikkila v. Barber
- Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman
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