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Wood v. Strickland

420 U.S. 308 · Decided February 25, 1975 · 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

Wood v. Strickland was decided on February 25, 1975 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Liability under civil rights acts” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
420 U.S. 308 · 95 S. Ct. 992 · 43 L. Ed. 2d 214 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 37
Docket number
73-1285
Decided
February 25, 1975
Argued
October 16, 1974
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–4
Majority opinion
Byron R. White
Opinion assigned by
William O. Douglas
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)
Type of law
Federal statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Wood et al. v. Strickland et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1974-051, docket 1974-051-01.

Other cases on “Liability under civil rights acts”

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Cases on the same legal provision: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts)

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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