Kordel v. United States
335 U.S. 345 · Decided November 22, 1948 · 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
Kordel v. United States was decided on November 22, 1948 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Consumer protection” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 335 U.S. 345 · 69 S. Ct. 106 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 52 · 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2742
- Docket number
- 30
- Decided
- November 22, 1948
- Argued
- October 14, 1948
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Consumer protection
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Type of law
- Court rules
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Dissent | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Kordel v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-007, docket 1948-007-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Consumer protection”
- United States v. Urbuteit
- Woods v. Stone
- United States v. Sullivan
- Reilly v. Pinkus
- United States v. Walsh
- United States v. Ruzicka
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Upshaw v. United States
- United States v. Hoffman
- United States v. Smith, U.S. District Judge
- Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States
- Stack v. Boyle
- Sacher v. United States
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Mandel Brothers, Inc. v. Wallace
- Ford Motor Co. v. United States
- Eckenrode v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
- United States v. Urbuteit
- Grand River Dam Authority v. Grand-Hydro
- Coray v. Southern Pacific Co.
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