Clancy v. United States
365 U.S. 312 · 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
Clancy v. United States was decided on February 27, 1961 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 365 U.S. 312 · 81 S. Ct. 645 · 5 L. Ed. 2d 574 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 2126
- Docket number
- 88
- Decided
- February 27, 1961
- Argued
- January 10, 1961
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Jencks Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Clancy et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-047, docket 1960-047-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Campbell v. United States
- Palermo v. United States
- Rosenberg v. United States
- Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States
- Lev v. United States
- Brady v. Maryland
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scott v. California
- Reina v. United States
- Callanan v. United States
- Carbo v. United States
- Campbell v. United States
- McNeal v. Culver
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