Swidler & Berlin and James Hamilton v. United States
524 U.S. 399 · Decided June 25, 1998 · 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
Swidler & Berlin and James Hamilton v. United States was decided on June 25, 1998 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 524 U.S. 399 · 118 S. Ct. 2081 · 141 L. Ed. 2d 379 · 1998 U.S. LEXIS 4214
- Docket number
- 97-1192
- Decided
- June 25, 1998
- Argued
- June 8, 1998
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Swidler & Berlin and James Hamilton v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1997-094, docket 1997-094-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- William Bracy v. Richard B. Gramley
- United States v. Christopher Lee Armstrong
- Tana Wood v. Dwayne Earl Bartholomew
- Curtis Lee Kyles v. John P. Whitley
- United States v. John Bass
- Delma Banks, Jr. v. Doug Dretke
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Garrit Bates v. United States
- Mario Salinas v. United States
- Richard F. Trest v. Burl Cain
- John Hudson v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Douglas McArthur Buchanan, Jr. v. Ronald J. Angelone
- James Brogan 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