Odom v. United States
400 U.S. 23 · Decided November 9, 1970 · 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
Odom v. United States was decided on November 9, 1970 by a vote of 8–1. SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “No merits, writ improvidently granted” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 400 U.S. 23 · 91 S. Ct. 112 · 27 L. Ed. 2d 122 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 5
- Docket number
- 300
- Decided
- November 9, 1970
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- No merits, writ improvidently granted
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Writ improvidently granted
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Full case caption
Odom v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-005, docket 1970-005-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “No merits, writ improvidently granted”
- Bruno v. Pennsylvania
- Triangle Improvement Council v. Ritchie
- Hester v. Illinois
- Bostic v. United States
- Conway v. California Adult Authority
- Iowa Beef Packers, Inc. v. Thompson
Cases on the same legal provision: Writ improvidently granted
- Piccirillo v. New York
- Johnson v. United States
- Moon v. Maryland
- Monks v. New Jersey
- Taggart v. Weinacker's, Inc.
- Jones v. State Board of Education of Tennessee
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- United States v. City of Chicago
- Fornaris v. Ridge Tool Co.
- Arnold Tours, Inc. v. Camp
- Port of Boston Marine Terminal Assn. v. Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic
- Bruno v. Pennsylvania
- Younger v. Harris
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