Watts v. Indiana
338 U.S. 49 · Decided June 27, 1949 · 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
Watts v. Indiana was decided on June 27, 1949 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Involuntary confession” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 338 U.S. 49 · 69 S. Ct. 1347 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 1801 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2080
- Docket number
- 610
- Decided
- June 27, 1949
- Argued
- April 25, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
Full case caption
Watts v. Indiana
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-115, docket 1948-115-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Turner v. Pennsylvania
- Harris v. South Carolina
- Upshaw v. United States
- Townsend v. Burke
- Lee v. Mississippi
- Haley v. Ohio
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Williams v. New York
- Treichler v. WisconsinLaw held unconstitutional
- Fisher v. Pace
- Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York
- Solesbee v. Balkcom
- Macdougall v. Green
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Upshaw v. United States
- Uveges v. Pennsylvania
- McDonald v. United States
- Michelson v. United States
- Frazier v. United States
- Fisher v. Pace
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