Elfbrandt v. Russell

384 U.S. 11 · Decided April 18, 1966 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Elfbrandt v. Russell was decided on April 18, 1966 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Loyalty oath, government employees” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Elfbrandt v. Russell et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1965-088, docket 1965-088-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Loyalty oath, government employees”

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• Cole v. Richardson
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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)

• Pate v. Robinson
  383 U.S. 375Decided March 7, 19667–2Tom C. Clark
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  383 U.S. 131Decided February 23, 19665–4Abe Fortas
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  384 U.S. 737Decided June 20, 19667–2Earl Warren
• Schmerber v. California
  384 U.S. 757Decided June 20, 19665–4William J. Brennan Jr.
• Giaccio v. PennsylvaniaLaw held unconstitutional
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• Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
  382 U.S. 87Decided November 15, 19659–0Potter Stewart

Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control BoardLaw held unconstitutional
  382 U.S. 70Decided November 15, 19658–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
  382 U.S. 87Decided November 15, 19659–0Potter Stewart
• Solomon v. South Carolina
  382 U.S. 204Decided December 6, 19656–3Per curiam
• Rosenblatt v. Baer
  383 U.S. 75Decided February 21, 19668–1William J. Brennan Jr.
• A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
  383 U.S. 413Decided March 21, 19666–3William J. Brennan Jr.
• Ginzburg v. United States
  383 U.S. 463Decided March 21, 19665–4William J. Brennan Jr.

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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