McNeal v. Culver
365 U.S. 109 · Decided January 23, 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
McNeal v. Culver was decided on January 23, 1961 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Charles E. Whittaker wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 365 U.S. 109 · 81 S. Ct. 413 · 5 L. Ed. 2d 445 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1803
- Docket number
- 52
- Decided
- January 23, 1961
- Argued
- December 6, 1960
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Charles E. Whittaker
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
McNeal v. Culver, State Prison Custodian
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-035, docket 1960-035-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Reynolds v. Cochran
- Ferguson v. GeorgiaLaw held unconstitutional
- Hudson v. North Carolina
- Hamilton v. Alabama
- Chewning v. Cunningham
- Carnley v. Cochran
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Entsminger v. Iowa
- McConnell v. Rhay
- Arsenault v. Massachusetts
- Kirby v. Illinois
- United States v. Ash
- Moore v. Illinois
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scott v. California
- Reina v. United States
- Callanan v. United States
- Carbo v. United States
- Campbell v. United States
- Clancy 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