Von Moltke v. Gillies
332 U.S. 708 · Decided January 19, 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
Von Moltke v. Gillies was decided on January 19, 1948 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 332 U.S. 708 · 68 S. Ct. 316 · 92 L. Ed. 2d 309 · 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2618
- Docket number
- 73
- Decided
- January 19, 1948
- Argued
- November 20, 1947
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent |
Full case caption
Von Moltke v. Gillies, Superintendent of the Detroit House of Correction
SCDB identifiers: case 1947-027, docket 1947-027-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Bute v. Illinois
- Gryger v. Burke
- Foster v. Illinois
- Gayes v. New York
- Uveges v. Pennsylvania
- De Meerleer v. Michigan
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Rodgers v. United States
- Blumenthal v. United States
- Marino v. Ragen
- Sealfon v. United States
- United States v. Di re
- Haley v. Ohio
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