Rios v. United States
364 U.S. 253 · Decided June 27, 1960 · 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
Rios v. United States was decided on June 27, 1960 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure, vehicles” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 364 U.S. 253 · 80 S. Ct. 1431 · 4 L. Ed. 2d 1688 · 1960 U.S. LEXIS 766
- Docket number
- 52
- Decided
- June 27, 1960
- Argued
- March 29, 1960
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure, vehicles
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- 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 | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Rios v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1959-133, docket 1959-133-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure, vehicles”
- Fahy v. Connecticut
- Preston v. United States
- One 1958 Plymouth Sedan v. Pennsylvania
- Cooper v. California
- Harris v. United States
- Chambers v. Maroney
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Elkins v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Euziere v. United States
- Camara v. United States.
- Abel v. United States
- Henry v. United States
- Silverman v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Henry v. United States
- Blackburn v. Alabama
- Stirone v. United States
- United States v. Robinson
- Forman v. United States
- Petite 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