United States v. Rabinowitz
339 U.S. 56 · Decided February 20, 1950 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
United States v. Rabinowitz was decided on February 20, 1950 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Sherman Minton wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 339 U.S. 56 · 70 S. Ct. 430 · 94 L. Ed. 2d 653 · 1950 U.S. LEXIS 2298
- Docket number
- 293
- Decided
- February 20, 1950
- Argued
- January 11, 1950
- 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
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Sherman Minton
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: William O. Douglas.
Full case caption
United States v. Rabinowitz
SCDB identifiers: case 1949-049, docket 1949-049-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- District of Columbia v. Little
- Wolf v. Colorado
- Lustig v. United States
- United States v. Wallace & Tiernan Co.
- McDonald v. United States
- Trupiano v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Brinegar v. United States
- Rios v. United States
- Lanza v. New York
- Wheeldin v. Wheeler
- Fahy v. Connecticut
- Preston v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Bryan v. United States
- District of Columbia v. Little
- Dennis v. United States
- Morford v. United States
- United States v. Bryan
- United States v. Fleischman
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