Nicholas v. United States
384 U.S. 678 · Decided June 13, 1966 · 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
Nicholas v. United States was decided on June 13, 1966 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Priority of federal fiscal claims” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 678 · 86 S. Ct. 1674 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 853 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2816
- Docket number
- 650
- Decided
- June 13, 1966
- Argued
- April 19, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Priority of federal fiscal claims
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- Bankruptcy Code or Bankruptcy Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Dissent |
Full case caption
Nicholas, Trustee v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-128, docket 1965-128-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Priority of federal fiscal claims”
- United States v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States
- United States v. Speers
- Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry v. United States
- United States v. Vermont
- Meyer v. United States
- United States v. Pioneer American Insurance Co.
Cases on the same legal provision: Bankruptcy Code or Bankruptcy Act
- Perry v. Commerce Loan Co.
- Segal v. Rochelle
- Katchen v. Landy
- Bank of Marin v. England
- Securities and Exchange Commission v. American Trailer Rentals Co.
- Protective Committee for Independent Stockholders of TMT Trailer Ferry, Inc. v. Anderson
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- United States v. Speers
- Fribourg Navigation Co., Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Malat et Ux. v. Riddell
- Motorlease Corp. v. United States.
- United States v. O'Malley
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Tellier et Ux.
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