Gibbs v. Burke
337 U.S. 773 · Decided June 27, 1949 · 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
Gibbs v. Burke was decided on June 27, 1949 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stanley F. Reed wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 337 U.S. 773 · 69 S. Ct. 1247 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 1686 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2086
- Docket number
- 418
- Decided
- June 27, 1949
- Argued
- April 21, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Stanley F. Reed
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Gibbs v. Burke, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-109, docket 1948-109-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Uveges v. Pennsylvania
- Quicksall v. Michigan
- Gryger v. Burke
- Bute v. Illinois
- Von Moltke v. Gillies
- Foster v. Illinois
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Entsminger v. Iowa
- McConnell v. Rhay
- Arsenault v. Massachusetts
- Kirby v. Illinois
- United States v. Ash
- Moore v. Illinois
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Upshaw v. United States
- Uveges v. Pennsylvania
- McDonald v. United States
- Michelson v. United States
- Frazier v. United States
- Fisher v. Pace
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