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Briscoe v. Bell

432 U.S. 404 · Decided June 20, 1977 · 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

Briscoe v. Bell was decided on June 20, 1977 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Voting Rights Act of 1965 and amendments” in the Civil Rights area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
432 U.S. 404 · 97 S. Ct. 2428 · 53 L. Ed. 2d 439 · 1977 U.S. LEXIS 126
Docket number
76-60
Decided
June 20, 1977
Argued
April 20, 1977
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
9–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
Thurgood Marshall
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Type of law
Federal statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Briscoe, Governor of Texas, et al. v. Bell, Attorney General, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-152, docket 1976-152-01.

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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