Kimbrough v. United States
364 U.S. 661 · Decided January 16, 1961 · 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
Kimbrough v. United States was decided on January 16, 1961 unanimously (9–0). SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “No merits, writ improvidently granted” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 364 U.S. 661 · 81 S. Ct. 390 · 5 L. Ed. 2d 362 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1832
- Docket number
- 127
- Decided
- January 16, 1961
- Argued
- January 11, 1961
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- No merits, writ improvidently granted
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative 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 | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Kimbrough v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-031, docket 1960-031-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “No merits, writ improvidently granted”
- Bullock v. South Carolina
- Atchley v. California.
- Binks Manufacturing Co. v. Ransburg Electro-Coating Corp.
- Baldonado v. California
- Needelman v. United States
- Phillips v. New York
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- United States v. Fruehauf
- Schnell v. Peter Eckrich & Sons, Inc.
- Bullock v. South Carolina
- Newsom v. Smyth
- Verret v. Oil Transport Co., Inc.
- Atchley 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