United States v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.
364 U.S. 301 · Decided November 7, 1960 · 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. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. was decided on November 7, 1960 unanimously (9–0). 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 “Priority of federal fiscal claims” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 364 U.S. 301 · 81 S. Ct. 1 · 5 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1960 U.S. LEXIS 242
- Docket number
- 18
- Decided
- November 7, 1960
- Argued
- October 13, 1960
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Priority of federal fiscal claims
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 2410
- 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 | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-001, docket 1960-001-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Priority of federal fiscal claims”
- United States v. Hougham
- Small Business Administration v. McClellan
- Aquilino v. United States
- United States v. Durham Lumber Co.
- United States v. Brosnan
- United States v. Union Central Life Insurance Co.
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- Dayton Rubber Co. v. Cordovan Associates, Inc.
- United States v. Hougham
- Knetsch et Ux. v. United States
- Meyer v. United States
- Small Business Administration v. McClellan
- Bulova Watch Co., Inc. 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