Home > Great American Court Cases > Eisenstadt v. Baird

Legal Citation: 405 U.S. 438 (1972)

Appellant
Thomas Eisenstadt, sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Appellee
William R. Baird, Jr.

Appellant's Claim
That the lower courts erred in overturning Baird's conviction on charges of distributing contraceptives without a medical license and to unmarried people.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Joseph R. Nolan

Chief Lawyers for Appellee
Joseph Balliro before the lower courts; Joseph D. Tydings before the Supreme Court

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr. (writing for the Court), William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
Warren E. Burger (Lewis F. Powell, Jr., and William H. Rehnquist joined the Court too late in 1972 to participate)

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of...