Morissette v. United States
342 U.S. 246 · Decided January 7, 1952 · 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
Morissette v. United States was decided on January 7, 1952 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, miscellaneous” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 342 U.S. 246 · 72 S. Ct. 240 · 96 L. Ed. 2d 288 · 1952 U.S. LEXIS 2714
- Docket number
- 12
- Decided
- January 7, 1952
- Argued
- October 9, 1951
- 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
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Robert H. Jackson
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 641
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority |
Did not participate: Sherman Minton.
Full case caption
Morissette v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1951-028, docket 1951-028-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, miscellaneous”
- Tinder v. United States
- United States v. Turley
- United States v. American Freightways Co.
- Carroll v. United States
- Milanovich et Ux. v. United States
- Lynch v. Overholser
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Stack v. Boyle
- United States v. Carignan
- United States v. Jeffers
- Gallegos v. Nebraska
- Palmer v. Ashe
- Rochin v. California
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