Fikes v. Alabama
352 U.S. 191 · Decided January 14, 1957 · 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
Fikes v. Alabama was decided on January 14, 1957 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed 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 “Involuntary confession” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 352 U.S. 191 · 77 S. Ct. 281 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 246 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 1452
- Docket number
- 53
- Decided
- January 14, 1957
- Argued
- December 6, 1956
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- 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 Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence |
Full case caption
Fikes v. Alabama
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-019, docket 1956-019-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Pennsylvania ex Rel. Herman v. Claudy
- Thomas v. Arizona
- Payne v. Arkansas
- Ashdown v. Utah
- Crooker v. California
- Cicenia v. Lagay
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Nelson v. City of New York
- Walker v. City of HutchinsonLaw held unconstitutional
- Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners of New Mexico
- Chessman v. Teets
- Sweezy v. New Hampshire
- United States ex Rel. Darcy v. Handy
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Mesarosh v. United States.
- Mesarosh v. United States
- Delli Paoli v. United States
- Gold v. United States
- Prince v. United States
- In re Groban
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