Gordon v. United States
344 U.S. 414 · Decided February 2, 1953 · 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
Gordon v. United States was decided on February 2, 1953 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Robert H. Jackson 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
- 344 U.S. 414 · 73 S. Ct. 369 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 447 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2425
- Docket number
- 182
- Decided
- February 2, 1953
- Argued
- December 17, 1952
- Court era
- Vinson 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
- Robert H. Jackson
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Full case caption
Gordon et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-041, docket 1952-041-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States
- Roviaro v. United States
- Jencks v. United States
- Scales v. United States.
- Lightfoot v. United States.
- Palermo v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Beacon Brass Co., Inc.
- Schwartz v. Texas
- Brock v. North Carolina
- Brown v. Allen
- United States ex Rel. Smith v. Baldi
- Lutwak 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