Adams v. Maryland
347 U.S. 179 · Decided March 8, 1954 · 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
Adams v. Maryland was decided on March 8, 1954 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Self-incrimination, immunity from prosecution” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 347 U.S. 179 · 74 S. Ct. 442 · 98 L. Ed. 2d 608 · 1954 U.S. LEXIS 2370
- Docket number
- 271
- Decided
- March 8, 1954
- Argued
- January 7, 1954
- 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
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Self-incrimination, immunity from prosecution
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 3486
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority |
Full case caption
Adams v. Maryland
SCDB identifiers: case 1953-045, docket 1953-045-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Self-incrimination, immunity from prosecution”
- Ullmann v. United States
- Smith v. United States
- Mills v. Louisiana
- Shapiro v. United States
- United States v. Hoffman
- Reina v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Lemke v. United States
- United States v. Debrow
- United States v. Five Gambling Devices Etc.
- Nevada and New York v. Stacher.
- United States v. Morgan
- Salsburg v. Maryland
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