Campbell v. United States
365 U.S. 85 · Decided January 23, 1961 · 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
Campbell v. United States was decided on January 23, 1961 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 365 U.S. 85 · 81 S. Ct. 421 · 5 L. Ed. 2d 428 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1802
- Docket number
- 53
- Decided
- January 23, 1961
- Argued
- December 6, 1960
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Jencks Act
- Type of law
- Federal 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 | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Campbell et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-034, docket 1960-034-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Clancy v. United States
- Palermo v. United States
- Rosenberg v. United States
- Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States
- Lev v. United States
- Brady v. Maryland
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scott v. California
- Reina v. United States
- Callanan v. United States
- Carbo v. United States
- McNeal v. Culver
- Clancy 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