Ahrens v. Clark
335 U.S. 188 · Decided June 21, 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
Ahrens v. Clark was decided on June 21, 1948 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 335 U.S. 188 · 68 S. Ct. 1443 · 92 L. Ed. 2d 1898 · 1948 U.S. LEXIS 1936
- Docket number
- 446
- Decided
- June 21, 1948
- Argued
- March 29, 1948
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 452
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Dissent | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Ahrens et al. v. Clark, Attorney General
SCDB identifiers: case 1947-115, docket 1947-115-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Price v. Johnston
- Humphrey v. Smith
- Young v. Ragen
- Johnson v. Eisentrager
- Gusik v. Schilder
- United States v. Hayman
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