Harris v. United States
382 U.S. 162 · Decided December 6, 1965 · 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
Harris v. United States was decided on December 6, 1965 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Contempt of court or Congress” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 382 U.S. 162 · 86 S. Ct. 352 · 15 L. Ed. 2d 240 · 1965 U.S. LEXIS 122
- Docket number
- 6
- Decided
- December 6, 1965
- Argued
- October 11, 1965
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Contempt of court or Congress
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Type of law
- Court rules
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Harris v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-019, docket 1965-019-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Contempt of court or Congress”
- First Security National Bank & Trust Co. of Lexington v. United States
- Shillitani v. United States
- Cheff v. Schnackenberg, U.S. Circuit Judge
- Castaldi v. United States
- United States v. Barnett
- Ungar v. Sarafite
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Collier v. United States
- Singer v. United States
- Fallen v. United States
- Platt v. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.
- Hardy v. United States
- Will, U.S. District Judge v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- First Security National Bank & Trust Co. of Lexington v. United States
- James v. Louisiana
- Tehan v. United States ex Rel. Shott
- Baxstrom v. HeroldLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. Ewell
- Stevens v. Marks
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