Taylor v. Alabama
335 U.S. 252 · No. 721 · 1947 term · Vinson Court
Decided Jun 21, 1948 · argued Apr 30, 1948
Due process · Due process: hearing or notice
Majority opinion: Harold Burton
The voteMajorityDissent
5–35 in the majority, 3 in dissent
3 dissents (6–3)
Affirmed. Taylor lost.
What this ruling means
Affirmed: the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Alabama Supreme Court, so it stands (sometimes with changes the Court made to it).
Taylor was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Lost” means the Court did not give that side the result it asked for.
From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.
Summary
The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.
Wikipedia has no article on this case, so there is no summary.
Data notes
The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.
How the justices voted
Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 1947 term. Filled: the 5 in the majority. Hollow: the 3 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(5)
Harold BurtonWrote the majority opinion
Felix FrankfurterWrote a concurrence
Stanley ReedJoined the majority
Frederick VinsonJoined the majority
Robert JacksonJoined the majority
Dissent(3)
Frank MurphyWrote a dissent
Wiley RutledgeJoined a dissent
William DouglasJoined a dissent
Did not take part: Hugo Black.
Data notes
Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.
Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.
The parties
Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.
- Petitioner
- TaylorPerson convicted of crime
- Respondent
- AlabamaState (Alabama)
- Reached the Court by
- Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
Data notes
The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.
The law at issue
The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.
- Provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Kind of law
- Constitutional Amendment
- Decided by
- Judicial review (state level)
Data notes
The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.
Timeline
What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.
- Jun 21, 1948DecidedDecided · Decided 5–3: affirmed. Taylor lost.
- Apr 30, 1948ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
- Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
- Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the Alabama Supreme Court: affirmed, with a dissent.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the Alabama trial court.
Data notes
From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.
Other decisions on the same issue
52 other argued cases since 1946 on due process: hearing or notice, newest first.
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- O'Bannon, Secretary of Public Welfare of Pennsylvania v. Town Court Nursing Center et al.447 U.S. 773Jun 23, 1980 · 447 U.S. 773Due process7–18–1 band
- Barry, Chairman, Racing and Wagering Board of New York, et al. v. Barchi443 U.S. 55Jun 25, 1979 · 443 U.S. 55Due process9–0Unanimous band
- Mackey, Registrar of Motor Vehicles of Massachusetts v. Montrym443 U.S. 1Jun 25, 1979 · 443 U.S. 1Due process5–45–4 band
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- Smith, Administrator, New York City Human Resources Administration, et al. v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform et al.431 U.S. 816Jun 13, 1977 · 431 U.S. 816Due process9–0Unanimous band
- Dixon, Secretary of State of Illinois v. Love431 U.S. 105May 16, 1977 · 431 U.S. 105Due process8–0Unanimous band
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Shapiro et ux.424 U.S. 614Mar 8, 1976 · 424 U.S. 614Due process6–27–2 band
- Laing v. United States et al.423 U.S. 161Jan 13, 1976 · 423 U.S. 161Due process5–36–3 band
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- Schroeder v. City of New York371 U.S. 208Dec 17, 1962 · 371 U.S. 208Due process9–0Unanimous band
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- Federal Communications Commission v. WJR, the Goodwill Station, Inc. et al.337 U.S. 265Jun 6, 1949 · 337 U.S. 265Due process8–0Unanimous band
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Data notes
Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.
Official record
Read the full opinion on Justia. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.