Brownell v. Singer
347 U.S. 403 · Decided April 5, 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
Brownell v. Singer was decided on April 5, 1954 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Priority of federal fiscal claims” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 347 U.S. 403 · 74 S. Ct. 548 · 98 L. Ed. 2d 803 · 1954 U.S. LEXIS 2280
- Docket number
- 401
- Decided
- April 5, 1954
- Argued
- March 8, 1954
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Priority of federal fiscal claims
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: Earl Warren.
Full case caption
Brownell, Attorney General, Successor to the Alien Property Custodian, v. Singer
SCDB identifiers: case 1953-064, docket 1953-064-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Priority of federal fiscal claims”
- United States v. City of New Britain
- United States v. Acri
- United States v. Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Co., Ltd.
- United States v. Scovil
- Central Bank v. United States
- United States v. Gilbert Associates, Inc.
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
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