Nilva v. United States
352 U.S. 385 · Decided February 25, 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
Nilva v. United States was decided on February 25, 1957 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Harold H. Burton wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Contempt of court or Congress” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 352 U.S. 385 · 77 S. Ct. 431 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 415 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 1253
- Docket number
- 37
- Decided
- February 25, 1957
- Argued
- November 8, 1956
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Harold H. Burton
- Opinion assigned by
- Stanley F. Reed
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Contempt of court or Congress
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative 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 | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent |
Full case caption
Nilva v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-038, docket 1956-038-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Contempt of court or Congress”
- Yates v. United States
- Cammer v. United States
- Green v. United States
- Yates v. United States
- Brown v. United States
- Courtney v. Schroeder.
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