Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
382 U.S. 87 · Decided November 15, 1965 · 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
Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham was decided on November 15, 1965 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Protest demonstrations” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 382 U.S. 87 · 86 S. Ct. 211 · 15 L. Ed. 2d 176 · 1965 U.S. LEXIS 264
- Docket number
- 5
- Decided
- November 15, 1965
- Argued
- October 11, 1965
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Protest demonstrations
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Special concurrence | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-011, docket 1965-011-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Protest demonstrations”
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Overstreet
- Cox v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
- Cox v. Louisiana
- Adderley v. Florida
- Turner v. New York
- Walker v. City of Birmingham
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Giaccio v. PennsylvaniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Brown v. Louisiana
- Pate v. Robinson
- Elfbrandt v. RussellLaw held unconstitutional
- Griswold v. ConnecticutLaw held unconstitutional
- Holt v. Virginia
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control BoardLaw held unconstitutional
- Solomon v. South Carolina
- Rosenblatt v. Baer
- A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
- Ginzburg v. United States
- Mishkin v. New York
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