Burns et al. v. Wilson, Secretary of Defense, et al.

Decided June 15, 1953. Frederick Moore Vinson delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 422 · 346 U.S. 137 (1953) · Cited 669 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Hiatt v. Brown · 339 U.S. 103 (1950)
• McNabb v. United States · 318 U.S. 332 (1943)
• Gusik v. Schilder · 340 U.S. 128 (1950)
• Ex Parte Quirin · 317 U.S. 1 (1942)
• In Re Grimley · 137 U.S. 147 (1890)
• Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
• Von Moltke v. Gillies · 332 U.S. 708 (1948)
• Wade v. Hunter · 336 U.S. 684 (1949)
• Lisenba v. California · 314 U.S. 219 (1942)
• Watts v. Indiana · 338 U.S. 49 (1949)
• Walker v. Johnston · 312 U.S. 275 (1941)
• Pyle v. Kansas · 317 U.S. 213 (1942)
• Moore v. Dempsey · 261 U.S. 86 (1923)
• Sunal v. Large · 332 U.S. 174 (1947)
• Lyons v. Oklahoma · 322 U.S. 596 (1944)
• Gallegos v. Nebraska · 342 U.S. 55 (1951)
• In Re Yamashita · 327 U.S. 1 (1946)
• Reaves v. Ainsworth · 219 U.S. 296 (1911)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Rumsfeld v. Padilla · 542 U.S. 426 (2004)
• Gosa v. Mayden · 413 U.S. 665 (1973)
• Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit Court of Kentucky · 410 U.S. 484 (1973)
• Parker v. Levy · 417 U.S. 733 (1974)
• Chappell v. Wallace · 462 U.S. 296 (1983)
• Reid v. Covert · 354 U.S. 1 (1957)
• United States v. Augenblick · 393 U.S. 348 (1969)
• United States v. Denedo · 556 U.S. 904 (2009)
• Brown v. Glines · 444 U.S. 348 (1980)
• Edwards v. Vannoy · 593 U.S. 255 (2021)
• Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. · 458 U.S. 50 (1982)
• Boumediene v. Bush · 553 U.S. 723 (2008)
• Department of the Navy v. Egan · 484 U.S. 518 (1988)
• Greer v. Spock · 424 U.S. 828 (1976)
• Schlesinger v. Councilman · 420 U.S. 738 (1975)
• United States v. Stanley · 483 U.S. 669 (1987)
• O'Callahan v. Parker · 395 U.S. 258 (1969)
• Rasul v. Bush · 542 U.S. 466 (2004)
• Rostker v. Goldberg · 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
• Loving v. United States · 517 U.S. 748 (1996)
• Clinton v. Goldsmith · 526 U.S. 529 (1999)
• Parisi v. Davidson · 405 U.S. 34 (1972)
• Middendorf v. Henry · 425 U.S. 25 (1976)
• Solorio v. United States · 483 U.S. 435 (1987)
• Strait v. Laird · 406 U.S. 341 (1972)
• United States v. Briggs · 592 U.S. 69 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).