Reid v. Covert
354 U.S. 1 · Decided June 10, 1957 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Reid v. Covert was decided on June 10, 1957 by a vote of 6–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Military, active duty” in the Civil Rights area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 354 U.S. 1 · 77 S. Ct. 1222 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 1148 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 729
- Docket number
- 701
- Decided
- June 10, 1957
- Argued
- May 3, 1956
- Reargued
- February 27, 1957
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Rehearing or restored to calendar for reargument
- Issue (SCDB)
- Military, active duty
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Uniform Code of Military Justice
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority |
Did not participate: Charles E. Whittaker.
Full case caption
Reid, Superintendent, District of Columbia Jail, v. Covert
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-101, docket 1956-101-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Military, active duty”
- Jackson v. Taylor
- Fowler v. Wilkinson
- Wilson v. Girard
- Harmon v. Brucker
- Marshall v. Brucker
- Kinsella v. Krueger
Cases on the same legal provision: Uniform Code of Military Justice
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Brownell v. Tom We Shung
- United States v. Plesha
- Johnson v. United States
- Ceballos v. Shaughnessy
- United States ex Rel. Hintopoulos et Ux. v. Shaughnessy
- United States v. Witkovich
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