Payne v. Arkansas
356 U.S. 560 · Decided May 19, 1958 · 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
Payne v. Arkansas was decided on May 19, 1958 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Charles E. Whittaker wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Involuntary confession” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 356 U.S. 560 · 78 S. Ct. 844 · 2 L. Ed. 2d 975 · 1958 U.S. LEXIS 1030
- Docket number
- 99
- Decided
- May 19, 1958
- Argued
- March 3, 1958
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Charles E. Whittaker
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- 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 | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Payne v. Arkansas
SCDB identifiers: case 1957-098, docket 1957-098-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Thomas v. Arizona
- Ashdown v. Utah
- Crooker v. California
- Cicenia v. Lagay
- United States ex Rel. Jennings v. Ragen
- Spano v. New York
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Hanson v. Denckla
- Beilan v. Board of Public Education
- Lerner v. Casey
- Caritativo v. California
- McGee v. International Life Insurance Co.
- Lambert v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scales v. United States.
- Lightfoot v. United States.
- Alcorta v. Texas
- Yates v. United States
- Benanti v. United States
- Rathbun 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