Simmons v. United States
348 U.S. 397 · Decided March 14, 1955 · 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
Simmons v. United States was decided on March 14, 1955 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Conscientious objectors” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 348 U.S. 397 · 75 S. Ct. 397 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 453 · 1955 U.S. LEXIS 1080
- Docket number
- 251
- Decided
- March 14, 1955
- Argued
- February 2, 1955
- 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
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Conscientious objectors
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Selective Service statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority |
Full case caption
Simmons v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1954-039, docket 1954-039-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Conscientious objectors”
- Witmer v. United States
- Sicurella v. United States
- Gonzales v. United States
- Johnston v. United States
- Dickinson v. United States
- United States v. Nugent
Cases on the same legal provision: Selective Service statutes
- Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman
- Orloff v. Willoughby
- McKinney v. Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Co.
- Robertson v. Chambers
- Oakley v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co.
- Aeronautical Industrial District Lodge 727 v. Campbell
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
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