Bates v. City of Little Rock
361 U.S. 516 · Decided February 23, 1960 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Bates v. City of Little Rock was decided on February 23, 1960 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a municipal or other local ordinance unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 361 U.S. 516 · 80 S. Ct. 412 · 4 L. Ed. 2d 480 · 1960 U.S. LEXIS 1601
- Docket number
- 41
- Decided
- February 23, 1960
- Argued
- November 18, 1959
- 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
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- First Amendment, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (association)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Held unconstitutional
- A municipal or other local ordinance
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| 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 | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Bates et al. v. City of Little Rock et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1959-037, docket 1959-037-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”
- Talley v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- In re Sawyer
- Shelton v. TuckerLaw held unconstitutional
- Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago
- Louisiana ex Rel. Gremillion v. National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleLaw held unconstitutional
- Lathrop v. Donohue
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (association)
- Wilkinson v. United States
- Braden v. United States
- Degregory v. Attorney General of New Hampshire
- Schneider v. Smith
- Baird v. State Bar of Arizona
- In re Stolar
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Smith v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Nelson v. County of Los Angeles
- Talley v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Nostrand v. Little
- Kreshik v. Saint Nicholas Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church of North America
- Flemming v. Nestor
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