United States v. United States Coin & Currency
401 U.S. 715 · Decided April 5, 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. United States Coin & Currency was decided on April 5, 1971 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Retroactivity of new rights” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 401 U.S. 715 · 91 S. Ct. 1041 · 28 L. Ed. 2d 434 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 152
- Docket number
- 5
- Decided
- April 5, 1971
- Argued
- February 25, 1969
- Reargued
- October 20, 1970
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- John M. Harlan II
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Retroactivity of new rights
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Retroactive application of a constitutional right
- Type of law
- Other
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent |
Full case caption
United States v. United States Coin & Currency
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-075, docket 1970-075-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Retroactivity of new rights”
- Williams v. United States
- Mackey v. United States
- Hill v. California
- Adams v. Illinois
- Ivan V v. City of New York
- Debacker v. Brainard
Cases on the same legal provision: Retroactive application of a constitutional right
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Colombo v. New York
- Thompson v. United States
- North Carolina v. Alford
- Dutton v. Evans
- Wyman v. James
- Procunier v. Atchley
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