Wilkinson v. United States
365 U.S. 399 · Decided February 27, 1961 · 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
Wilkinson v. United States was decided on February 27, 1961 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Legislative investigations on internal security” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 365 U.S. 399 · 81 S. Ct. 567 · 5 L. Ed. 2d 633 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1648
- Docket number
- 37
- Decided
- February 27, 1961
- Argued
- November 17, 1960
- Court era
- Warren 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
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Felix Frankfurter
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Legislative investigations on internal security
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (association)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Wilkinson v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-051, docket 1960-051-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Legislative investigations on internal security”
- Braden v. United States
- Slagle v. Ohio
- McPhaul v. United States
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Deutch v. United States
- Russell v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (association)
- Shelton v. TuckerLaw held unconstitutional
- Louisiana ex Rel. Gremillion v. National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleLaw held unconstitutional
- Bates v. City of Little RockLaw held unconstitutional
- Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama ex Rel. Patterson
- Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia ex Rel. Virginia State Bar
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- McPhaul v. United States
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Shelton v. TuckerLaw held unconstitutional
- Travis v. United States
- Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago
- Braden v. United States
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