Humphrey v. Smith
336 U.S. 695 · Decided April 25, 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
Humphrey v. Smith was decided on April 25, 1949 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 336 U.S. 695 · 69 S. Ct. 830 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 986 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2500
- Docket number
- 457
- Decided
- April 25, 1949
- Argued
- March 30, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 10 U.S.C. § 1564
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Humphrey, Warden, v. Smith
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-068, docket 1948-068-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Young v. Ragen
- Ahrens v. Clark
- Price v. Johnston
- Johnson v. Eisentrager
- Gusik v. Schilder
- United States v. Hayman
Cases on the same legal provision: 10 U.S.C. § 1564
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