Penfield Company of California v. Securities & Exchange Commission
330 U.S. 585 · Decided March 31, 1947 · 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
Penfield Company of California v. Securities & Exchange Commission was decided on March 31, 1947 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas 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
- 330 U.S. 585 · 67 S. Ct. 918 · 91 L. Ed. 1117 · 1947 U.S. LEXIS 2471
- Docket number
- 453
- Decided
- March 31, 1947
- Argued
- January 16, 1947
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Contempt of court or Congress
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 385
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Penfield Company of California et al. v. Securities & Exchange Commission
SCDB identifiers: case 1946-074, docket 1946-074-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Contempt of court or Congress”
- United States v. United Mine Workers of America
- Maggio v. Zeitz
- In re Oliver
- Fisher v. Pace
- McComb v. Jacksonville Paper Co.
- Sacher v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Cleveland v. United States
- Carter v. Illinois
- United States v. Bruno
- Fiswick v. United States
- United States v. Sheridan
- Louisiana ex Rel. Francis v. Resweber
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