Blackburn v. Alabama
361 U.S. 199 · Decided January 11, 1960 · 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
Blackburn v. Alabama was decided on January 11, 1960 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Involuntary confession” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 361 U.S. 199 · 80 S. Ct. 274 · 4 L. Ed. 2d 242 · 1960 U.S. LEXIS 1766
- Docket number
- 50
- Decided
- January 11, 1960
- Argued
- December 10, 1959
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Blackburn v. Alabama
SCDB identifiers: case 1959-016, docket 1959-016-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Spano v. New York
- United States ex Rel. Jennings v. Ragen
- Rogers v. Richmond
- Coppola v. United States
- Reck v. Pate
- Culombe v. Connecticut
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Nelson v. County of Los Angeles
- Thompson v. City of Louisville
- Nostrand v. Little
- Safeway Stores, Inc. v. Oklahoma Retail Grocers Association, Inc.
- Napue v. Illinois
- Scull v. Virginia ex Rel. Committee on Law Reform and Racial Activities
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Henry v. United States
- Stirone v. United States
- United States v. Robinson
- Forman v. United States
- Petite v. United States
- Abel v. United States
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