United States v. Wilson et al.
Decided May 19, 1975. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 73-1162 · 421 U.S. 309 (1975) · Cited 308 times
Holding
The District Court properly imposed summary contempt punishment under the circumstances.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–3.
Majority · 4
- Warren Earl Burger · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Potter Stewart
Concurring · 2
- Harry Andrew Blackmun · filed a concurring opinion
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 3
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Orville Douglas
“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.
- Harris v. United States · 382 U.S. 162 (1965)
- Brown v. United States · 359 U.S. 41 (1959)
- Nye v. United States · 313 U.S. 33 (1941)
- Taylor v. Hayes · 418 U.S. 488 (1974)
- Illinois v. Allen · 397 U.S. 337 (1970)
- Cooke v. United States · 267 U.S. 517 (1925)
- Kastigar v. United States · 406 U.S. 441 (1972)
- Shillitani v. United States · 384 U.S. 364 (1966)
- Bloom v. Illinois · 391 U.S. 194 (1968)
- Brown v. Walker · 161 U.S. 591 (1896)
- Ex Parte Terry · 128 U.S. 289 (1888)
- Ex Parte Robinson · 86 U.S. 505 (1874)
- Bessette v. W. B. Conkey Co. · 194 U.S. 324 (1904)
- Ex Parte Hudgings · 249 U.S. 378 (1919)
- Ex Parte Kearney · 20 U.S. 38 (1822)
- Johnson v. Mississippi · 403 U.S. 212 (1971)
- Groppi v. Leslie · 404 U.S. 496 (1972)
- Nilva v. United States · 352 U.S. 385 (1957)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- United States v. Dixon · 509 U.S. 688 (1993)
- International Union, United Mine Workers v. Bagwell · 512 U.S. 821 (1994)
- Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
- Young v. United States Ex Rel. Vuitton Et Fils S. A. · 481 U.S. 787 (1987)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Warren Earl Burger’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1975). 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).