Flaxer v. United States
358 U.S. 147 · Decided December 15, 1958 · 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
Flaxer v. United States was decided on December 15, 1958 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Legislative investigations on internal security” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 358 U.S. 147 · 79 S. Ct. 191 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 183 · 1958 U.S. LEXIS 1790
- Docket number
- 60
- Decided
- December 15, 1958
- Argued
- November 19, 1958
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Legislative investigations on internal security
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Flaxer v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-019, docket 1958-019-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Legislative investigations on internal security”
- Scull v. Virginia ex Rel. Committee on Law Reform and Racial Activities
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Barenblatt v. United States
- Raley v. Ohio
- Sacher v. United States
- Watkins v. United States
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Scull v. Virginia ex Rel. Committee on Law Reform and Racial Activities
- Vitarelli v. Seaton
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Barenblatt v. United States
- Raley v. Ohio
- Greene v. McElroy
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