United States v. Smith
342 U.S. 225 · Decided January 7, 1952 · 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. Smith was decided on January 7, 1952 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Subconstitutional fair procedure, timeliness” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 342 U.S. 225 · 72 S. Ct. 260 · 96 L. Ed. 2d 252 · 1952 U.S. LEXIS 2630
- Docket number
- 20
- Decided
- January 7, 1952
- Argued
- December 4, 1951
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Subconstitutional fair procedure, timeliness
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 590
- 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 Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States v. Smith
SCDB identifiers: case 1951-025, docket 1951-025-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Subconstitutional fair procedure, timeliness”
- Thompson v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
- Honda v. Clark
- Moody v. Flowers
- United States v. Dieter
- Thomas v. Arn
- Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley-Duff & Associates, Inc.
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Stack v. Boyle
- United States v. Carignan
- United States v. Jeffers
- Gallegos v. Nebraska
- Palmer v. Ashe
- Rochin v. California
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