Yates v. United States
354 U.S. 298 · Decided June 17, 1957 · 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
Yates v. United States was decided on June 17, 1957 by a vote of 6–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Internal security legislation” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 354 U.S. 298 · 77 S. Ct. 1064 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 1356 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 657
- Docket number
- 6
- Decided
- June 17, 1957
- Argued
- October 18, 1956
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–1
- Majority opinion
- John M. Harlan II
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Internal security legislation
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Smith Act, Subversive Activities Control Act, or similar legislation
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- 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 Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: William J. Brennan Jr., Charles E. Whittaker.
Full case caption
Yates et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-113, docket 1956-113-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Internal security legislation”
- Rowoldt v. Perfetto
- Kent v. Dulles
- Dayton v. Dulles
- Cole v. Young
- Communist Party of the United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board
- Pennsylvania v. Nelson
Cases on the same legal provision: Smith Act, Subversive Activities Control Act, or similar legislation
- Bonetti v. Rogers
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Niukkanen v. McAlexander
- Kimm v. Rosenberg
- W. E. B. Dubois Clubs of America v. Clark
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Butler v. MichiganLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. International Union United Automobile
- Watkins v. United States
- Sweezy v. New Hampshire
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Vogt, Inc.
- Service v. Dulles
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