Fowler v. Wilkinson
353 U.S. 583 · Decided June 3, 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
Fowler v. Wilkinson was decided on June 3, 1957 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Military, active duty” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 353 U.S. 583 · 77 S. Ct. 1035 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 1054 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 785
- Docket number
- 620
- Decided
- June 3, 1957
- Argued
- April 30, 1957
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Felix Frankfurter
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Military, active duty
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Uniform Code of Military Justice
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority |
Full case caption
Fowler v. Wilkinson, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-096, docket 1956-096-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Military, active duty”
- Jackson v. Taylor
- Reid v. CovertAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Wilson v. Girard
- Harmon v. Brucker
- Marshall v. Brucker
- Kinsella v. Krueger
Cases on the same legal provision: Uniform Code of Military Justice
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Brownell v. Tom We Shung
- United States v. Plesha
- Johnson v. United States
- Ceballos v. Shaughnessy
- United States ex Rel. Hintopoulos et Ux. v. Shaughnessy
- United States v. Witkovich
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