Fay v. Noia
372 U.S. 391 · Decided March 18, 1963 · 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
Fay v. Noia was decided on March 18, 1963 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 372 U.S. 391 · 83 S. Ct. 822 · 9 L. Ed. 2d 837 · 1963 U.S. LEXIS 1945
- Docket number
- 84
- Decided
- March 18, 1963
- Argued
- January 7, 1963
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Majority |
Full case caption
Fay, Warden, et al. v. Noia
SCDB identifiers: case 1962-061, docket 1962-061-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Townsend v. Sain
- Sanders v. United States
- Boyes v. United States.
- Baker v. United States.
- Jones v. Cunningham
- Marchese v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Machibroda v. United States
- United States v. Tateo
- Bushnell v. Ellis
- Irvin v. Dowd
- Harris, U.S. District Judge (Walker v. Nelson
- Younger v. Gilmore
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Walton v. Arkansas
- United States v. Sampson
- Jones v. Cunningham
- Shotwell Manufacturing Co. v. United States
- Wong Sun v. United States
- Simler v. Conner
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