Bell v. United States
349 U.S. 81 · Decided May 9, 1955 · 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
Bell v. United States was decided on May 9, 1955 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, Mann Act” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 349 U.S. 81 · 75 S. Ct. 620 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 905 · 1955 U.S. LEXIS 864
- Docket number
- 468
- Decided
- May 9, 1955
- Argued
- April 21, 1955
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 2421
- 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 | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority |
Full case caption
Bell v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1954-072, docket 1954-072-01.
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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