Wallace v. Virginia
384 U.S. 891 · Decided June 20, 1966 · 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
Wallace v. Virginia was decided on June 20, 1966 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Comity, civil rights” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 891 · 86 S. Ct. 1916 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 996 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 1142
- Docket number
- 1011
- Decided
- June 20, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Comity, civil rights
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
Full case caption
Wallace et al. v. Virginia
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-140, docket 1965-140-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Comity, civil rights”
- Georgia v. Rachel
- City of Greenwood v. Peacock
- Baines v. City of Danville
- Glover v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co.
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Inc. v. Bennett
- Harrison v. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Fairfax Family Fund, Inc. v. California
- Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Gridiron Steel Co.
- Federal Trade Commission v. Mary Carter Paint Co.
- Richmond Television Corp. v. United States
- Swift & Co., Inc. v. WickhamAltered precedent
- United Steelworkers of America v. R. H. Bouligny, Inc.
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