Brown v. United States
356 U.S. 148 · Decided March 31, 1958 · 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. United States was decided on March 31, 1958 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Self-incrimination (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 356 U.S. 148 · 78 S. Ct. 622 · 2 L. Ed. 2d 589 · 1958 U.S. LEXIS 1286
- Docket number
- 43
- Decided
- March 31, 1958
- Argued
- April 4, 1957
- Reargued
- October 22, 1957
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- Opinion assigned by
- Felix Frankfurter
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Self-incrimination (general)
- 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 Felix Frankfurter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority |
Full case caption
Brown v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1957-070, docket 1957-070-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Self-incrimination (general)”
- Lawn v. United States
- Knapp v. Schweitzer
- Curcio v. United States
- Scott v. California
- Quinn v. United States
- Emspak v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Mills v. Louisiana
- Slochower v. Board of Higher Education of New York CityLaw held unconstitutional
- McPhaul v. United States
- Slagle v. Ohio
- Stein v. New York
- Brown v. Allen
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scales v. United States.
- Lightfoot v. United States.
- Alcorta v. Texas
- Yates v. United States
- Benanti v. United States
- Rathbun 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