Samuels v. Mackell
401 U.S. 66 · Decided February 23, 1971 · 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
Samuels v. Mackell was decided on February 23, 1971 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Comity, First Amendment” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 401 U.S. 66 · 91 S. Ct. 764 · 27 L. Ed. 2d 688 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 83
- Docket number
- 7
- Decided
- February 23, 1971
- Argued
- April 1, 1969
- Reargued
- April 29, 1969
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Comity, First Amendment
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Abstention doctrine
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Full case caption
Samuels et al. v. Mackell, District Attorney of Queens County, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-036, docket 1970-036-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Comity, First Amendment”
- Younger v. Harris
- Boyle v. Landry
- W. E. B. Dubois Clubs of America v. Clark
- Zwickler v. Koota
- Allee v. Medrano
- Babbitt v. United Farm Workers National Union
Cases on the same legal provision: Abstention doctrine
- Perez v. Ledesma
- Dyson v. Stein
- Byrne v. Karalexis
- Askew v. Hargrave
- Reetz v. Bozanich
- American Trial Lawyers Assn. v. New Jersey Supreme Court
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- United States v. City of Chicago
- Odom v. United States
- Fornaris v. Ridge Tool Co.
- Arnold Tours, Inc. v. Camp
- Port of Boston Marine Terminal Assn. v. Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic
- Bruno v. Pennsylvania
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