Hoffa v. United States
385 U.S. 293 · Decided December 12, 1966 · 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
Hoffa v. United States was decided on December 12, 1966 by a vote of 4–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart 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
- 385 U.S. 293 · 87 S. Ct. 408 · 17 L. Ed. 2d 374 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2778
- Docket number
- 32
- Decided
- December 12, 1966
- Argued
- October 13, 1966
- 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
- 4–3
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Byron R. White, Abe Fortas.
Full case caption
Hoffa v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1966-026, docket 1966-026-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Lewis v. United States
- Osborn v. United States
- Black v. United States
- McCray v. Illinois
- O'Brien v. United States
- Hoffa v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Cooper v. California
- Harris v. United States
- Desist v. United States
- Kaiser v. New York
- Preston v. United States
- Fahy v. Connecticut
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Black v. United States
- Cichos v. Indiana
- O'Connor v. Ohio
- Lewis v. United States
- United States v. Fabrizio
- Osborn v. United States
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