James v. United States
366 U.S. 213 · Decided May 15, 1961 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
James v. United States was decided on May 15, 1961 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, internal revenue” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 366 U.S. 213 · 81 S. Ct. 1052 · 6 L. Ed. 2d 246 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 2014
- Docket number
- 63
- Decided
- May 15, 1961
- Argued
- November 17, 1960
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Internal Revenue Code
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
James v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-090, docket 1960-090-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, internal revenue”
- Ingram v. United States
- Lopez v. United States
- Achilli v. United States
- Berra v. United States
- Holland et Ux. v. United States
- Friedberg v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Internal Revenue Code
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Lester
- United States v. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.
- Bulova Watch Co., Inc. v. United States
- Jarecki v. G. D. Searle & Co.
- American Automobile Association v. United States
- Meyer v. United States
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