Kawakita v. United States
343 U.S. 717 · Decided June 2, 1952 · 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
Kawakita v. United States was decided on June 2, 1952 by a vote of 4–3. The Court affirmed 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, war crimes” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 343 U.S. 717 · 72 S. Ct. 950 · 96 L. Ed. 2d 1249 · 1952 U.S. LEXIS 2017
- Docket number
- 570
- Decided
- June 2, 1952
- Argued
- April 2, 1952
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 4–3
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Stanley F. Reed
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Immigration and Nationality statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: Felix Frankfurter, Tom C. Clark.
Full case caption
Kawakita v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1951-090, docket 1951-090-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, war crimes”
Cases on the same legal provision: Immigration and Nationality statutes
- United States v. Spector
- Bindczyck v. Finucane
- Heikkila v. Barber
- United States ex Rel. Accardi v. Shaughnessy
- Barber v. Gonzales
- Savorgnan v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Stack v. Boyle
- United States v. Carignan
- United States v. Jeffers
- Gallegos v. Nebraska
- Palmer v. Ashe
- Rochin v. California
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