Roviaro v. United States
353 U.S. 53 · Decided March 25, 1957 · 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
Roviaro v. United States was decided on March 25, 1957 by a vote of 6–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harold H. Burton wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 353 U.S. 53 · 77 S. Ct. 623 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 639 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 1125
- Docket number
- 58
- Decided
- March 25, 1957
- Argued
- December 11, 1956
- 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
- 6–1
- Majority opinion
- Harold H. Burton
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority |
Did not participate: Hugo L. Black, Charles E. Whittaker.
Full case caption
Roviaro v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-062, docket 1956-062-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Jencks v. United States
- Scales v. United States.
- Lightfoot v. United States.
- Palermo v. United States
- Rosenberg v. United States
- Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Mesarosh v. United States.
- Mesarosh v. United States
- Fikes v. Alabama
- Delli Paoli v. United States
- Gold v. United States
- Prince 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