Scales v. United States
367 U.S. 203 · 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
Scales v. United States was decided on June 5, 1961 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Internal security legislation” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 367 U.S. 203 · 81 S. Ct. 1469 · 6 L. Ed. 2d 782 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 2003
- Docket number
- 1
- Decided
- June 5, 1961
- Argued
- April 29, 1959
- Reargued
- October 10, 1960
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- John M. Harlan II
- Opinion assigned by
- Felix Frankfurter
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Internal security legislation
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Smith Act, Subversive Activities Control Act, or similar legislation
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Scales v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-115, docket 1960-115-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Internal security legislation”
- Communist Party of the United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board
- Noto v. United States
- Communist Party, U. S. A. v. Catherwood
- Travis v. United States
- Killian v. United States
- Rabinowitz v. Kennedy
Cases on the same legal provision: Smith Act, Subversive Activities Control Act, or similar legislation
- Kimm v. Rosenberg
- Niukkanen v. McAlexander
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Bonetti v. Rogers
- W. E. B. Dubois Clubs of America v. Clark
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- McPhaul v. United States
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Shelton v. TuckerLaw held unconstitutional
- Travis v. United States
- Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago
- Wilkinson 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