Downum v. United States
372 U.S. 734 · Decided April 22, 1963 · 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
Downum v. United States was decided on April 22, 1963 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Double jeopardy” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 372 U.S. 734 · 83 S. Ct. 1033 · 10 L. Ed. 2d 100 · 1963 U.S. LEXIS 1726
- Docket number
- 489
- Decided
- April 22, 1963
- Argued
- March 20, 1963
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Double jeopardy
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Majority |
Full case caption
Downum v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1962-081, docket 1962-081-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Double jeopardy”
- Marakar v. United States
- Fong Foo v. United States
- United States v. Tateo
- Gori v. United States
- Forman v. United States
- Petite v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Walton v. Arkansas
- United States v. Sampson
- Jones v. Cunningham
- Shotwell Manufacturing Co. v. United States
- Wong Sun v. United States
- Simler v. Conner
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