Kovacs v. Brewer
356 U.S. 604 · Decided May 26, 1958 · 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
Kovacs v. Brewer was decided on May 26, 1958 by a vote of 8–1. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Change in state law” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 356 U.S. 604 · 78 S. Ct. 963 · 2 L. Ed. 2d 1008 · 1958 U.S. LEXIS 996
- Docket number
- 200
- Decided
- May 26, 1958
- Argued
- April 3, 1958
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Change in state law
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority |
Full case caption
Kovacs v. Brewer
SCDB identifiers: case 1957-104, docket 1957-104-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Change in state law”
- Bush v. Texas
- Palmer Oil Corp. v. Amerada Petroleum Corp.
- Watts v. Seward School Board
- Case v. Nebraska
- Ioannou v. New York
- Fusari v. Steinberg
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Conleyv. Gibson
- Williams v. Simons
- Rosenbloom v. United States
- Interstate Commerce Commission v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.
- Virginia v. Maryland
- Nelson v. Tennessee.
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