United States v. Van Leeuwen
397 U.S. 249 · Decided March 23, 1970 · 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. Van Leeuwen was decided on March 23, 1970 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 397 U.S. 249 · 90 S. Ct. 1029 · 25 L. Ed. 2d 282 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 57
- Docket number
- 403
- Decided
- March 23, 1970
- Argued
- February 25, 1970
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Van Leeuwen
SCDB identifiers: case 1969-061, docket 1969-061-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Colonnade Catering Corp. v. United States
- Vale v. Louisiana
- Kelley v. Arizona
- Chimel v. CaliforniaAltered precedent
- Von Cleef v. New Jersey
- Shipley v. California
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Chambers v. Maroney
- Perini v. Colosimo
- Crouse v. Wood
- Hocker v. Heffley
- Desist v. United States
- Kaiser v. New York
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Debacker v. Brainard
- United States v. Knox
- Minor v. United States
- Morales v. New York
- Molinaro v. New Jersey
- Sigler v. Parker
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