Smith v. United States
360 U.S. 1 · Decided June 8, 1959 · 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
Smith v. United States was decided on June 8, 1959 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Earl Warren 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
- 360 U.S. 1 · 79 S. Ct. 991 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 1041 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 850
- Docket number
- 90
- Decided
- June 8, 1959
- Argued
- January 20, 1959
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 1201
- 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 Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent |
Full case caption
Smith v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-096, docket 1958-096-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure”
- Hawkins v. United States
- United States v. Robinson
- Schaffer v. United States
- Green v. United States
- Mallory v. United States
- Lott v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Hawkins v. United States
- Ladner v. United StatesAltered precedent
- United States ex Rel. Jennings v. Ragen
- Draper v. United States
- Greene v. United States
- Heflin 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