Lawn v. United States
355 U.S. 339 · Decided January 13, 1958 · 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
Lawn v. United States was decided on January 13, 1958 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Charles E. Whittaker wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Self-incrimination (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 355 U.S. 339 · 78 S. Ct. 311 · 2 L. Ed. 2d 321 · 1958 U.S. LEXIS 1859
- Docket number
- 9
- Decided
- January 13, 1958
- Argued
- October 14, 1957
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Charles E. Whittaker
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Self-incrimination (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Lawn v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1957-035, docket 1957-035-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Self-incrimination (general)”
- Brown v. United States
- Knapp v. Schweitzer
- Curcio v. United States
- Quinn v. United States
- Emspak v. United States
- Bart v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Mills v. Louisiana
- Slochower v. Board of Higher Education of New York CityLaw held unconstitutional
- McPhaul v. United States
- Slagle v. Ohio
- Stein v. New York
- Brown v. Allen
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scales v. United States.
- Lightfoot v. United States.
- Alcorta v. Texas
- Yates v. United States
- Benanti v. United States
- Rathbun 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