Coppedge v. United States
369 U.S. 438 · Decided April 30, 1962 · 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
Coppedge v. United States was decided on April 30, 1962 by a vote of 5–2. 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, miscellaneous” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 369 U.S. 438 · 82 S. Ct. 917 · 8 L. Ed. 2d 21 · 1962 U.S. LEXIS 1356
- Docket number
- 157
- Decided
- April 30, 1962
- Argued
- December 12, 1961
- 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
- 5–2
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Felix Frankfurter, Byron R. White.
Full case caption
Coppedge v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1961-058, docket 1961-058-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, miscellaneous”
- Garrett v. United States
- Nowakowski v. Maroney
- Roberts v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- In re McDonald
- Neitzke v. Williams
- In re Michael Sindram
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Hoyt v. Florida
- Garner v. Louisiana
- Seymour v. Superintendent of Washington State Penitentiary
- Bailey v. PattersonLaw held unconstitutional
- Metlakatla Indian Community v. Egan
- Turner v. City of MemphisLaw held unconstitutional
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