Townsend v. Sain
372 U.S. 293 · Decided March 18, 1963 · 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
Townsend v. Sain was decided on March 18, 1963 by a vote of 5–4. 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 “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 372 U.S. 293 · 83 S. Ct. 745 · 9 L. Ed. 2d 770 · 1963 U.S. LEXIS 1941
- Docket number
- 8
- Decided
- March 18, 1963
- Argued
- October 8, 1962
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Townsend v. Sain, Sheriff, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1962-057, docket 1962-057-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Fay v. NoiaAltered precedent
- Sanders v. United States
- Boyes v. United States.
- Baker v. United States.
- Jones v. Cunningham
- Marchese v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Walton v. Arkansas
- United States v. Sampson
- Jones v. Cunningham
- Shotwell Manufacturing Co. v. United States
- Wong Sun v. United States
- Simler v. Conner
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