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Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York

397 U.S. 664 · Decided May 4, 1970 · 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

Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York was decided on May 4, 1970 by a vote of 7–1. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Establishment of religion” in the First Amendment area.

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Case details

Citations
397 U.S. 664 · 90 S. Ct. 1409 · 25 L. Ed. 2d 697 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 43
Docket number
135
Decided
May 4, 1970
Argued
November 19, 1969
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
7–1
Majority opinion
Warren E. Burger
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Issue area
First Amendment
Legal provision
First Amendment (establishment of religion)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackMajority
Justice William O. DouglasDissentWrote an opinion
Justice John M. Harlan IISpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Special concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajority
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajorityWrote an opinion

Full case caption

Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York

SCDB identifiers: case 1969-087, docket 1969-087-01.

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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