Jencks v. United States
353 U.S. 657 · Decided June 3, 1957 · 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
Jencks v. United States was decided on June 3, 1957 by a vote of 7–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 353 U.S. 657 · 77 S. Ct. 1007 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 1103 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 1623
- Docket number
- 23
- Decided
- June 3, 1957
- Argued
- October 17, 1956
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- 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 Harold H. Burton | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Charles E. Whittaker.
Full case caption
Jencks v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-098, docket 1956-098-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Roviaro v. United States
- Scales v. United States.
- Lightfoot v. United States.
- Palermo v. United States
- Rosenberg v. United States
- Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Mesarosh v. United States.
- Mesarosh v. United States
- Fikes v. Alabama
- Delli Paoli v. United States
- Gold v. United States
- Prince 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