United States v. Bass
404 U.S. 336 · Decided December 20, 1971 · 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
United States v. Bass was decided on December 20, 1971 by a vote of 5–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 404 U.S. 336 · 92 S. Ct. 515 · 30 L. Ed. 2d 488 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 143
- Docket number
- 70-71
- Decided
- December 20, 1971
- Argued
- October 18, 1971
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–2
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- William O. Douglas
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States v. Bass
SCDB identifiers: case 1971-031, docket 1971-031-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms”
- Huddleston v. United States
- Barrett v. United States
- Scarborough v. United States
- United States v. Batchelder
- Lewis v. United States
- Busic v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- Gelbard v. United States
- United States v. Kahn et Ux.
- United States v. Giordano
- United States v. Chavez
- Iannelli v. United States
- United States v. Donovan
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Harris v. Washington
- Cruz v. Hauck
- Wilwording v. Swenson
- Santobello v. New York
- Picard v. Connor
- United States v. Campos-Serrano
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