Bell v. Maryland
378 U.S. 226 · Decided June 22, 1964 · 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
Bell v. Maryland was decided on June 22, 1964 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Sit-in demonstrations against racial discrimination” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 378 U.S. 226 · 84 S. Ct. 1814 · 12 L. Ed. 2d 822 · 1964 U.S. LEXIS 824
- Docket number
- 12
- Decided
- June 22, 1964
- Argued
- October 14, 1963
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Concurrence | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Bell et al. v. Maryland
SCDB identifiers: case 1963-160, docket 1963-160-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Sit-in demonstrations against racial discrimination”
- Griffin v. Maryland
- Barr v. City of Columbia
- Robinson v. Florida
- Bouie v. City of Columbia
- Drews v. Maryland
- Green v. Virginia
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Shockey v. Illinois
- Ausbie v. California
- Daegele v. Kansas
- Herrear v. Heinze
- Tabb v. California
- Foti v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
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