In re Sawyer
360 U.S. 622 · Decided June 29, 1959 · 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
In re Sawyer was decided on June 29, 1959 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 360 U.S. 622 · 79 S. Ct. 1376 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 1473 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 1744
- Docket number
- 326
- Decided
- June 29, 1959
- Argued
- May 19, 1959
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- First Amendment, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
In re Sawyer
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-133, docket 1958-133-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”
- Bates v. City of Little RockLaw held unconstitutional
- Talley v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama ex Rel. Patterson
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- Shelton v. TuckerLaw held unconstitutional
- Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of the State of New YorkLaw held unconstitutional
- Smith v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Speiser v. RandallLaw held unconstitutional
- First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. County of Los AngelesLaw held unconstitutional
- First Methodist Church of San Leandro v. Horstmann
- Kingsley Books, Inc. v. Brown
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Flaxer v. United States
- Scull v. Virginia ex Rel. Committee on Law Reform and Racial Activities
- Vitarelli v. Seaton
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Barenblatt v. United States
- Raley v. Ohio
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