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Ray v. Blair

343 U.S. 214 · Decided April 15, 1952 · 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

Ray v. Blair was decided on April 15, 1952 by a vote of 5–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Stanley F. Reed wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Voting” in the Civil Rights area.

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Case details

Citations
343 U.S. 214 · 72 S. Ct. 654 · 96 L. Ed. 2d 894 · 1952 U.S. LEXIS 2246
Docket number
649
Decided
April 15, 1952
Argued
March 31, 1952
Court era
Vinson Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–2
Majority opinion
Stanley F. Reed
Opinion assigned by
Fred M. Vinson
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue (SCDB)
Voting
Issue area
Civil Rights
Legal provision
Article II, Section 1 (executive power)
Type of law
Constitution
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Stanley F. ReedMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice William O. DouglasDissent
Justice Robert H. JacksonDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Harold H. BurtonMajority
Chief Justice Fred M. VinsonMajority
Justice Tom C. ClarkMajority
Justice Sherman MintonMajority

Did not participate: Hugo L. Black, Felix Frankfurter.

Full case caption

Ray, Chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee of Alabama, v. Blair

SCDB identifiers: case 1951-069, docket 1951-069-01.

Other cases on “Voting”

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Cases on the same legal provision: Article II, Section 1 (executive power)

Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)

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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