District of Columbia v. Little
339 U.S. 1 · Decided February 20, 1950 · 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
District of Columbia v. Little was decided on February 20, 1950 by a vote of 6–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 339 U.S. 1 · 70 S. Ct. 468 · 94 L. Ed. 2d 599 · 1950 U.S. LEXIS 2295
- Docket number
- 302
- Decided
- February 20, 1950
- Argued
- January 11, 1950
- 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
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- District of Columbia statutes
- 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: William O. Douglas.
Full case caption
District of Columbia v. Little
SCDB identifiers: case 1949-046, docket 1949-046-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- United States v. RabinowitzAltered precedent
- Wolf v. Colorado
- Lustig v. United States
- United States v. Wallace & Tiernan Co.
- McDonald v. United States
- Trupiano v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: District of Columbia statutes
- Graham v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen
- District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc.
- Lynch v. Overholser
- General Motors Corp. v. District of Columbia
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Bryan v. United States
- United States v. RabinowitzAltered precedent
- Dennis v. United States
- Morford v. United States
- United States v. Bryan
- United States v. Fleischman
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