Brown v. Allen
344 U.S. 443 · Decided February 9, 1953 · 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
Brown v. Allen was decided on February 9, 1953 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Stanley F. Reed 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
- 344 U.S. 443 · 73 S. Ct. 397 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 469 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2391
- Docket number
- 32
- Decided
- February 9, 1953
- Argued
- April 28, 1952
- Reargued
- October 13, 1952
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Stanley F. Reed
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Full case caption
Brown v. Allen, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-043, docket 1952-043-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Stein v. New York
- Stroble v. California
- Rochin v. California
- Gallegos v. Nebraska
- United States v. Carignan
- Leyra v. Denno
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- United States v. Kahriger
- Hoffman v. United States
- Rogers v. United States
- Blau v. United States
- Regan v. New York
- Quinn v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Beacon Brass Co., Inc.
- Schwartz v. Texas
- Gordon v. United States
- Brock v. North Carolina
- United States ex Rel. Smith v. Baldi
- Lutwak 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