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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 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

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Felix FrankfurterDissentWrote an opinion
Justice William O. DouglasMajority
Justice Tom C. ClarkDissentWrote an opinion
Chief Justice Earl WarrenMajority
Justice John M. Harlan IIDissent
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Judgment of the CourtWrote an opinion
Justice Charles E. WhittakerDissent
Justice Potter StewartSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion

Full case caption

In re Sawyer

SCDB identifiers: case 1958-133, docket 1958-133-01.

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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