Smith v. Sperling
354 U.S. 91 · Decided June 10, 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
Smith v. Sperling was decided on June 10, 1957 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Judicial administration, miscellaneous” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 354 U.S. 91 · 77 S. Ct. 1112 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 1205 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 730
- Docket number
- 316
- Decided
- June 10, 1957
- Argued
- March 27, 1957
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Judicial administration, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Dissent |
Full case caption
Smith, Special Administrator, v. Sperling et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-102, docket 1956-102-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Judicial administration, miscellaneous”
- Swanson v. Traer
- United States v. American-Foreign Steamship Corp.
- United Steelworkers of America v. R. H. Bouligny, Inc.
- Maryland for the Use of Levin v. United States
- Palmore v. United States
- Moody v. Albemarle Paper Co.
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Brownell v. Chase National Bank of New York
- United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co.
- United States v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co.
- Leedom v. International Union of Mine
- Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America v. National Labor Relations Board
- Leiter Minerals, Inc. 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