Burns v. Ohio
360 U.S. 252 · Decided June 15, 1959 · 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
Burns v. Ohio was decided on June 15, 1959 by a vote of 6–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, costs or filing fees” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 360 U.S. 252 · 79 S. Ct. 1164 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 1209 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 810
- Docket number
- 581
- Decided
- June 15, 1959
- Argued
- May 18, 1959
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, costs or filing fees
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 1257
- 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 Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority |
Did not participate: Potter Stewart.
Full case caption
Burns v. Ohio
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-110, docket 1958-110-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, costs or filing fees”
- Douglas v. Green
- Smith v. Bennett
- Adkins v. E. I. Dupont de Nemours & Co., Inc. United States
- Boddie v. ConnecticutLaw held unconstitutional
- Schilb v. Kuebel
- Huffman v. Boersen
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. § 1257
- Anonymous Nos. 6 and 7 v. Baker
- Raley v. Ohio
- Rohr Aircraft Corp. v. County of San DiegoLaw held unconstitutional
- Marcus v. Search Warrant of Property at 104 East Tenth StreetLaw held unconstitutional
- Lathrop v. Donohue
- In re Groban
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Aaron v. Cooper
- Cooper v. Aaron
- Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham Board of Education of Jefferson County
- Evers v. Dwyer
- Williams et Ux. v. Lee
- Lee v. Madigan
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