Heflin v. United States
358 U.S. 415 · Decided February 24, 1959 · 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
Heflin v. United States was decided on February 24, 1959 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 “Statutory construction of criminal laws, bank robbery” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 358 U.S. 415 · 79 S. Ct. 451 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 407 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 1486
- Docket number
- 137
- Decided
- February 24, 1959
- Argued
- January 14, 1959
- 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 area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 2113
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Concurrence | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Concurrence | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Heflin v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-039, docket 1958-039-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, bank robbery”
- Prince v. United States
- United States v. Gaddis
- Simpson v. United States
- McLaughlin v. United States
- Floyd J. Carter v. United States
- Edmund Boyle v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C. § 2113
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Hawkins v. United States
- Ladner v. United StatesAltered precedent
- United States ex Rel. Jennings v. Ragen
- Draper v. United States
- Greene v. United States
- Williams v. Oklahoma
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