Williams et Ux. v. Lee
358 U.S. 217 · Decided January 12, 1959 · 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
Williams et Ux. v. Lee was decided on January 12, 1959 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indians, state jurisdiction” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 358 U.S. 217 · 79 S. Ct. 269 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 251 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 1656
- Docket number
- 39
- Decided
- January 12, 1959
- Argued
- November 20, 1958
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indians, state jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 67 Stat. 590
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Williams et Ux. v. Lee, Doing Business as Ganado Trading Post
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-025, docket 1958-025-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indians, state jurisdiction”
- Seymour v. Superintendent of Washington State Penitentiary
- Metlakatla Indian Community v. Egan
- Bailess v. Paukune
- Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona Tax Commission
- Puyallup Tribe v. Department of Game of Washington
- Menominee Tribe of Indians v. United States
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Aaron v. Cooper
- Cooper v. Aaron
- Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham Board of Education of Jefferson County
- Evers v. Dwyer
- Lee v. Madigan
- Tak Shan Fong v. United States
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