Upshaw v. United States
335 U.S. 410 · Decided December 13, 1948 · 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
Upshaw v. United States was decided on December 13, 1948 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Involuntary confession” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 335 U.S. 410 · 69 S. Ct. 170 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 100 · 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2794
- Docket number
- 98
- Decided
- December 13, 1948
- Argued
- November 12, 1948
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Type of law
- Court rules
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent |
Full case caption
Upshaw v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-011, docket 1948-011-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Townsend v. Burke
- Watts v. Indiana
- Turner v. Pennsylvania
- Harris v. South Carolina
- Lee v. Mississippi
- Haley v. Ohio
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Kordel v. United States
- United States v. Hoffman
- United States v. Smith, U.S. District Judge
- Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States
- Stack v. Boyle
- Sacher v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Uveges v. Pennsylvania
- McDonald v. United States
- Michelson v. United States
- Frazier v. United States
- Fisher v. Pace
- McComb v. Jacksonville Paper Co.
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