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Malone v. Bowdoin

369 U.S. 643 · Decided May 14, 1962 · 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

Malone v. Bowdoin was decided on May 14, 1962 by a vote of 5–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Jurisdiction of federal district or territorial courts” in the Judicial Power area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
369 U.S. 643 · 82 S. Ct. 980 · 8 L. Ed. 2d 168 · 1962 U.S. LEXIS 2148
Docket number
113
Decided
May 14, 1962
Argued
March 20, 1962
Court era
Warren Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–2
Majority opinion
Potter Stewart
Opinion assigned by
Earl Warren
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Judicial Power
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackMajority
Justice William O. DouglasDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Tom C. ClarkMajority
Chief Justice Earl WarrenMajority
Justice John M. Harlan IIDissent
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Majority
Justice Potter StewartMajorityWrote an opinion

Did not participate: Felix Frankfurter, Byron R. White.

Full case caption

Malone v. Bowdoin et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1961-068, docket 1961-068-01.

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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