United States v. Brown
333 U.S. 18 · Decided February 2, 1948 · 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. Brown was decided on February 2, 1948 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Wiley B. Rutledge wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, escape from custody” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 333 U.S. 18 · 68 S. Ct. 376 · 92 L. Ed. 2d 442 · 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2584
- Docket number
- 100
- Decided
- February 2, 1948
- Argued
- January 5, 1948
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Wiley B. Rutledge
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 753
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Brown
SCDB identifiers: case 1947-032, docket 1947-032-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, escape from custody”
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Rodgers v. United States
- Blumenthal v. United States
- Marino v. Ragen
- Sealfon v. United States
- United States v. Di re
- Haley v. Ohio
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