Washington v. Davis
426 U.S. 229 · Decided June 7, 1976 · 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
Washington v. Davis was decided on June 7, 1976 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Employment discrimination (race, age, religion, illegitimacy, national origin, working conditions)” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 426 U.S. 229 · 96 S. Ct. 2040 · 48 L. Ed. 2d 597 · 1976 U.S. LEXIS 154
- Docket number
- 74-1492
- Decided
- June 7, 1976
- Argued
- March 1, 1976
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Employment discrimination (race, age, religion, illegitimacy, national origin, working conditions)
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Washington, Mayor of Washington, D. C., et al. v. Davis et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1975-113, docket 1975-113-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Employment discrimination (race, age, religion, illegitimacy, national origin, working conditions)”
- Brown v. General Services Administration
- Chandler v. Roudebush
- McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co.
- Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Federal Power Commission
- Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (equal protection)
- United States v. Maccollom
- Mathews v. Lucas
- Norton v. Mathews
- Knebel v. Hein
- Delaware Tribal Business Committee v. Weeks
- Califano v. Webster
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Turner v. Department of Employment Security of UtahLaw held unconstitutional
- Mathews v. Eldridge
- De Canas v. Bica
- Fisher v. District Court of the Sixteenth Judicial District of Montana
- Imbler v. Pachtman
- Lavine v. Milne
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