Griffin v. United States
336 U.S. 704 · Decided April 25, 1949 · 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
Griffin v. United States was decided on April 25, 1949 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Supreme Court jurisdiction on appeal from federal courts” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 336 U.S. 704 · 69 S. Ct. 814 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 993 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2501
- Docket number
- 417
- Decided
- April 25, 1949
- Argued
- December 15, 1948
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent |
Full case caption
Griffin v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-069, docket 1948-069-01.
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Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Hoiness v. United States
- Stainback v. Mo Hock Ke Lok Po
- Defense Supplies Corp. v. Lawrence Warehouse Co.
- United States v. Urbuteit
- Ex Parte Collett
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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