Silverman v. United States
365 U.S. 505 · Decided March 6, 1961 · 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
Silverman v. United States was decided on March 6, 1961 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 365 U.S. 505 · 81 S. Ct. 679 · 5 L. Ed. 2d 734 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1605
- Docket number
- 66
- Decided
- March 6, 1961
- Argued
- December 5, 1960
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Silverman et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-056, docket 1960-056-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Wilson v. Schnettler
- Pugach v. Dollinger
- Chapman v. United States
- Mapp v. OhioAltered precedent
- Marcus v. Search Warrant of Property at 104 East Tenth StreetLaw held unconstitutional
- Elkins v. United StatesAltered precedent
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Rios v. United States
- Lanza v. New York
- Wheeldin v. Wheeler
- Fahy v. Connecticut
- Preston v. United States
- Cooper v. California
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Scott v. California
- Reina v. United States
- Callanan v. United States
- Carbo v. United States
- Campbell v. United States
- McNeal v. Culver
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