Schaffer v. United States
362 U.S. 511 · Decided May 16, 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
Schaffer v. United States was decided on May 16, 1960 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 362 U.S. 511 · 80 S. Ct. 945 · 4 L. Ed. 2d 921 · 1960 U.S. LEXIS 1144
- Docket number
- 111
- Decided
- May 16, 1960
- Argued
- March 24, 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
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Felix Frankfurter
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Type of law
- Court rules
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Schaffer et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1959-076, docket 1959-076-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure”
- United States v. Robinson
- Green v. United States
- Smith v. United States
- Lott v. United States
- Hawkins v. United States
- Hill v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Jones v. United States
- Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States
- Giordenello v. United States
- Rosenbloom v. United States
- Cleary v. Bolger
- Hardy 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