Tilton v. Richardson
403 U.S. 672 · Decided June 28, 1971 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Tilton v. Richardson was decided on June 28, 1971 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Parochiaid (aid to religious schools)” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 403 U.S. 672 · 91 S. Ct. 2091 · 29 L. Ed. 2d 790 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 20
- Docket number
- 153
- Decided
- June 28, 1971
- Argued
- March 2, 1971
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated 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
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Parochiaid (aid to religious schools)
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 20 U.S.C. § 754
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Full case caption
Tilton et al. v. Richardson, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-142, docket 1970-142-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Parochiaid (aid to religious schools)”
- Lemon v. KurtzmanLaw held unconstitutional
- Lemon v. Kurtzman
- Levitt v. Committee for Public Education & Religious LibertyLaw held unconstitutional
- Hunt v. McNair
- Sloan v. LemonLaw held unconstitutional
- Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. NyquistLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Blount v. RizziLaw held unconstitutional
- Baird v. State Bar of Arizona
- In re Stolar
- Law Students Civil Rights Research Council, Inc. v. Wadmond
- United States v. Weller
- Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy
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