United States v. Alpers
338 U.S. 680 · Decided February 6, 1950 · 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
United States v. Alpers was decided on February 6, 1950 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Sherman Minton wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Obscenity, federal” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 338 U.S. 680 · 70 S. Ct. 352 · 94 L. Ed. 2d 457 · 1950 U.S. LEXIS 2345
- Docket number
- 217
- Decided
- February 6, 1950
- Argued
- December 14, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Sherman Minton
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, federal
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 1462
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: William O. Douglas.
Full case caption
United States v. Alpers
SCDB identifiers: case 1949-043, docket 1949-043-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, federal”
- Roth v. United States
- Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day
- Ginzburg v. United States
- Redmond et Ux. v. United States
- Aday v. United States
- Books, Inc. v. United States
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Cole v. Arkansas
- United States ex Rel. Knauff v. Shaughnessy
- American Communications Assn., C. I. O. v. Douds
- Hughes v. Superior Court of California for Contra Costa County
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Etc. Union v. Hanke
- Building Service Employees International Union v. Gazzam
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