Russell v. United States
369 U.S. 749 · Decided May 21, 1962 · 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
Russell v. United States was decided on May 21, 1962 by a vote of 5–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Legislative investigations on internal security” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 369 U.S. 749 · 82 S. Ct. 1038 · 8 L. Ed. 2d 240 · 1962 U.S. LEXIS 2206
- Docket number
- 8
- Decided
- May 21, 1962
- Argued
- December 7, 1961
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–2
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Legislative investigations on internal security
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 2 U.S.C. § 192
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Felix Frankfurter, Byron R. White.
Full case caption
Russell v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1961-077, docket 1961-077-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Legislative investigations on internal security”
- Grumman v. United States
- Silber v. United States
- Hartman v. United States
- Deutch v. United States
- Slagle v. Ohio
- Wheeldin v. Wheeler
Cases on the same legal provision: 2 U.S.C. § 192
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Killian v. United States
- Cramp v. Board of Public Instruction of Orange CountyLaw held unconstitutional
- Nostrand v. Little
- Grumman v. United States
- Wood v. Georgia
- Engel v. Vitale
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