Watts v. Indiana
Decided June 27, 1949. Felix Frankfurter delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 610 · 338 U.S. 49 (1949) · Cited 831 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
Majority · 2
Plurality · 1
- Felix Frankfurter · delivered the opinion of the Court
Concurring · 3
- Hugo Lafayette Black · filed a concurring opinion
- Robert Houghwout Jackson · filed a concurring opinion
- William Orville Douglas · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Frederick Moore Vinson · filed a dissenting opinion
- Harold Hitz Burton · filed a dissenting opinion
- Stanley Forman Reed · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Lisenba v. California · 314 U.S. 219 (1942)
- Haley v. Ohio · 332 U.S. 596 (1948)
- Chambers v. Florida · 309 U.S. 227 (1940)
- Malinski v. New York · 324 U.S. 401 (1945)
- Ashcraft v. Tennessee · 322 U.S. 143 (1944)
- McNabb v. United States · 318 U.S. 332 (1943)
- Marsh v. Alabama · 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
- Brown v. Mississippi · 297 U.S. 278 (1936)
- Norris v. Alabama · 294 U.S. 587 (1935)
- Lyons v. Oklahoma · 322 U.S. 596 (1944)
- Child Labor Tax Case · 259 U.S. 20 (1922)
- Hooven & Allison Co. v. Evatt · 324 U.S. 652 (1945)
- Ward v. Texas · 316 U.S. 547 (1942)
- White v. Texas · 310 U.S. 530 (1940)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Culombe v. Connecticut · 367 U.S. 568 (1961)
- Payne v. Arkansas · 356 U.S. 560 (1958)
- Fikes v. Alabama · 352 U.S. 191 (1957)
- Turner v. Pennsylvania · 338 U.S. 62 (1949)
- Hoag v. New Jersey · 356 U.S. 464 (1958)
- Gallegos v. Nebraska · 342 U.S. 55 (1951)
- Thomas v. Arizona · 356 U.S. 390 (1958)
- Moran v. Burbine · 475 U.S. 412 (1986)
- Blackburn v. Alabama · 361 U.S. 199 (1960)
- United States v. Mandujano · 425 U.S. 564 (1976)
- In Re Groban · 352 U.S. 330 (1957)
- Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
- Rumsfeld v. Padilla · 542 U.S. 426 (2004)
- Rogers v. Richmond · 365 U.S. 534 (1961)
- Andresen v. Maryland · 427 U.S. 463 (1976)
- Lynumn v. Illinois · 372 U.S. 528 (1963)
- Stein v. New York · 346 U.S. 156 (1953)
- Niemotko v. Maryland · 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
- Reck v. Pate · 367 U.S. 433 (1961)
- Crooker v. California · 357 U.S. 433 (1958)
- Stroble v. California · 343 U.S. 181 (1952)
- Osborn v. United States · 385 U.S. 323 (1966)
- United States v. Zubaydah · 595 U.S. 195 (2022)
- Mapp v. Ohio · 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
- Jackson v. Denno · 378 U.S. 368 (1964)
- Arizona v. Fulminante · 499 U.S. 279 (1991)
- Escobedo v. Illinois · 378 U.S. 478 (1964)
- Beck v. Ohio · 379 U.S. 89 (1964)
- Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
- Ashe v. Swenson · 397 U.S. 436 (1970)
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).