Katz v. United States
389 U.S. 347 · Decided December 18, 1967 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Katz v. United States was decided on December 18, 1967 by a vote of 7–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” 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
- 389 U.S. 347 · 88 S. Ct. 507 · 19 L. Ed. 2d 576 · 1967 U.S. LEXIS 2
- Docket number
- 35
- Decided
- December 18, 1967
- Argued
- October 17, 1967
- 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
- 7–1
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.
Full case caption
Katz v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1967-043, docket 1967-043-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Massachusetts v. Painten
- Kolod v. United States
- Roberts v. United States
- Sabbath v. United States
- Terry v. Ohio
- Sibron v. New York
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Harris v. United States
- Cooper v. California
- Desist v. United States
- Kaiser v. New York
- Chambers v. Maroney
- Perini v. Colosimo
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Bitter v. United States
- Roberts v. United States
- Wood v. United States
- Pinto v. Pierce
- Beecher v. Alabama
- Garner v. Yeager
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