Lopez v. United States
373 U.S. 427 · Decided May 27, 1963 · 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
Lopez v. United States was decided on May 27, 1963 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, internal revenue” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 373 U.S. 427 · 83 S. Ct. 1381 · 10 L. Ed. 2d 462 · 1963 U.S. LEXIS 2618
- Docket number
- 236
- Decided
- May 27, 1963
- Argued
- January 14, 1963
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- John M. Harlan II
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 201
- 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 | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Dissent |
Full case caption
Lopez v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1962-121, docket 1962-121-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, internal revenue”
- James v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Ingram v. United States
- United States v. Habig
- Achilli v. United States
- Berra v. United States
- Holland et Ux. v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C. § 201
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Walton v. Arkansas
- United States v. Sampson
- Jones v. Cunningham
- Shotwell Manufacturing Co. v. United States
- Wong Sun v. United States
- Simler v. Conner
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