United States v. Brown

381 U.S. 437 · Decided June 7, 1965 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

United States v. Brown was decided on June 7, 1965 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Internal security legislation” in the First Amendment area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

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

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

United States v. Brown

SCDB identifiers: case 1964-120, docket 1964-120-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Internal security legislation”

• Zemel v. Rusk
  381 U.S. 1Decided May 3, 19656–3Earl Warren
• American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born v. Subversive Activities Control Board
  380 U.S. 503Decided April 26, 19655–3Per curiam
• Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade v. Subversive Activities Control Board
  380 U.S. 513Decided April 26, 19655–3Per curiam
• Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control BoardLaw held unconstitutional
  382 U.S. 70Decided November 15, 19658–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Aptheker v. Secretary of StateLaw held unconstitutional
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• Dennis v. United States
  384 U.S. 855Decided June 20, 19667–2Abe Fortas

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Cases on the same legal provision: Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

• Calhoon v. Harvey
  379 U.S. 134Decided December 7, 19648–1Hugo L. Black
• American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada v. Wittstein
  379 U.S. 171Decided December 7, 19647–0Byron R. White
• Wirtz v. Local 153
  389 U.S. 463Decided January 15, 19688–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Wirtz v. Local Union No. 125
  389 U.S. 477Decided January 15, 19688–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Wirtz v. Hotel
  391 U.S. 492Decided June 3, 19688–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers v. Hardeman
  401 U.S. 233Decided February 24, 19718–1William J. Brennan Jr.

Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Garrison v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
  379 U.S. 64Decided November 23, 19649–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Cox v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
  379 U.S. 536Decided January 18, 19659–0Arthur J. Goldberg
• Cox v. Louisiana
  379 U.S. 559Decided January 18, 19655–4Arthur J. Goldberg
• Freedman v. MarylandLaw held unconstitutional
  380 U.S. 51Decided March 1, 19659–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• United States v. Seeger
  380 U.S. 163Decided March 8, 19659–0Tom C. Clark
• Henry v. Collins
  380 U.S. 356Decided March 29, 19659–0Per curiam

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