Lightfoot v. United States.
355 U.S. 2 · Decided October 14, 1957 · 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
Lightfoot v. United States. was decided on October 14, 1957 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 355 U.S. 2 · 78 S. Ct. 10 · 2 L. Ed. 2d 19 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 318
- Docket number
- 4
- Decided
- October 14, 1957
- Argued
- October 11, 1956
- Reargued
- June 3, 1957
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal 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 Harold H. Burton | 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 |
Full case caption
Lightfoot v. United States.
SCDB identifiers: case 1957-006, docket 1957-006-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Scales v. United States.
- Jencks v. United States
- Roviaro v. United States
- Palermo v. United States
- Rosenberg v. United States
- Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scales v. United States.
- Alcorta v. Texas
- Yates v. United States
- Benanti v. United States
- Rathbun v. United States
- Moore v. Michigan
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