Hamilton v. Alabama
368 U.S. 52 · Decided November 13, 1961 · 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
Hamilton v. Alabama was decided on November 13, 1961 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 “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 368 U.S. 52 · 82 S. Ct. 157 · 7 L. Ed. 2d 114 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 167
- Docket number
- 32
- Decided
- November 13, 1961
- Argued
- October 17, 1961
- 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)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- 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 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
Hamilton v. Alabama
SCDB identifiers: case 1961-004, docket 1961-004-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Chewning v. Cunningham
- Carnley v. Cochran
- Ferguson v. GeorgiaLaw held unconstitutional
- Reynolds v. Cochran
- McNeal v. Culver
- Walton v. Arkansas
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Entsminger v. Iowa
- McConnell v. Rhay
- Arsenault v. Massachusetts
- Kirby v. Illinois
- United States v. Ash
- Moore v. Illinois
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Hodges v. United States
- Hill v. United States
- Mitchell v. United States
- Chewning v. Cunningham
- Machibroda v. United States
- Dibella 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