Hudson v. North Carolina
363 U.S. 697 · Decided June 20, 1960 · 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
Hudson v. North Carolina was decided on June 20, 1960 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart 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
- 363 U.S. 697 · 80 S. Ct. 1314 · 4 L. Ed. 2d 1500 · 1960 U.S. LEXIS 919
- Docket number
- 466
- Decided
- June 20, 1960
- Argued
- May 16, 1960
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- 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 | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Hudson v. North Carolina
SCDB identifiers: case 1959-118, docket 1959-118-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- McNeal v. Culver
- Reynolds v. Cochran
- Ferguson v. GeorgiaLaw held unconstitutional
- Anonymous Nos. 6 and 7 v. Baker
- Cash v. Culver
- Hamilton v. Alabama
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)
- Henry v. United States
- Blackburn v. Alabama
- Stirone v. United States
- United States v. Robinson
- Forman v. United States
- Petite 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