Irvin v. Dowd
366 U.S. 717 · Decided June 5, 1961 · 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
Irvin v. Dowd was decided on June 5, 1961 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, pretrial publicity” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 366 U.S. 717 · 81 S. Ct. 1639 · 6 L. Ed. 2d 751 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1023
- Docket number
- 41
- Decided
- June 5, 1961
- Argued
- November 9, 1960
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Extra-legal jury influences, pretrial publicity
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (other provisions)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Irvin v. Dowd, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-112, docket 1960-112-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Extra-legal jury influences, pretrial publicity”
- Beck v. Washington
- Marshall v. United States
- Rideau v. Louisiana
- Sheppard v. Maxwell
- Whitney v. Florida
- Groppi v. WisconsinLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (other provisions)
- Levine v. United States
- Estes v. Texas
- Parker v. Gladden
- Witherspoon v. IllinoisLaw held unconstitutional
- Bumper v. North Carolina
- Davis v. Georgia
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scott v. California
- Reina v. United States
- Callanan v. United States
- Carbo v. United States
- Campbell v. United States
- McNeal v. Culver
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