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Payne v. Madigan

366 U.S. 761 · Decided June 5, 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

Payne v. Madigan was decided on June 5, 1961 by a vote of 4–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. The Justices were equally divided, which leaves the lower court's judgment in place without setting precedent. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miscellaneous criminal procedure” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
366 U.S. 761 · 81 S. Ct. 1670 · 6 L. Ed. 2d 853 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1024
Docket number
180
Decided
June 5, 1961
Argued
February 27, 1961
Court era
Warren Court
Decision type
Equally divided vote
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
4–4
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackEqually divided vote
Justice William O. DouglasEqually divided vote
Justice Tom C. ClarkEqually divided vote
Chief Justice Earl WarrenEqually divided vote
Justice John M. Harlan IIEqually divided vote
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Equally divided vote
Justice Charles E. WhittakerEqually divided vote
Justice Potter StewartEqually divided vote

Did not participate: Felix Frankfurter.

Full case caption

Payne v. Madigan, Warden

SCDB identifiers: case 1960-118, docket 1960-118-01.

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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