McDonald v. United States
335 U.S. 451 · Decided December 13, 1948 · 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
McDonald v. United States was decided on December 13, 1948 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 335 U.S. 451 · 69 S. Ct. 191 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 153 · 1948 U.S. LEXIS 1456
- Docket number
- 36
- Decided
- December 13, 1948
- Argued
- October 13, 1948
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Felix Frankfurter
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Concurrence | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent |
Full case caption
McDonald et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-013, docket 1948-013-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- United States v. Wallace & Tiernan Co.
- Trupiano v. United States
- Wolf v. Colorado
- Lustig v. United States
- Johnson v. United States
- United States v. Di re
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Brinegar v. United States
- Rios v. United States
- Lanza v. New York
- Wheeldin v. Wheeler
- Fahy v. Connecticut
- Preston v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Upshaw v. United States
- Uveges v. Pennsylvania
- Michelson v. United States
- Frazier v. United States
- Fisher v. Pace
- McComb v. Jacksonville Paper Co.
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