Kent v. United States
383 U.S. 541 · Decided March 21, 1966 · 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
Kent v. United States was decided on March 21, 1966 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Abe Fortas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Juveniles” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 383 U.S. 541 · 86 S. Ct. 1045 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 84 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2015
- Docket number
- 104
- Decided
- March 21, 1966
- Argued
- January 19, 1966
- 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
- Abe Fortas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Juveniles
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| 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 | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Kent v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-072, docket 1965-072-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Juveniles”
- In re Gault
- In re Whittington
- In re Fischer.
- In re WinshipLaw held unconstitutional
- Santana v. Texas
- Richard S. v. City of New York
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Wmca, Inc. v. Lomenzo
- Bradley v. School Board of City of Richmond
- Rogers v. Paul
- Soric v. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
- Evans v. Newton
- California v. Buzard
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