Supreme Court of the United States, 1954

Chief Justice Warren's opinion upheld the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act's disclosure and registration requirements against facial vagueness and First Amendment challenges by construing them narrowly to cover recipients of contributions having a substantial purpose of influencing legislation through direct…

The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s denial of petitioner's habeas corpus petition, holding that the later confessions obtained after an involuntary psychiatric confession were inadmissible because they were part of a continuous coercive process, violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s due‑process clause.

Chief Justice Warren delivered the unanimous opinion holding that racial segregation in District of Columbia public schools violates the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. Although the Fifth Amendment contains no express equal protection clause, unjustifiable racial discrimination can violate due process.

Chief Justice Warren delivered the unanimous opinion reversing Hernandez’s conviction. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee extends beyond discrimination between white and Black persons and prohibits systematic exclusion from jury service based on ancestry or national origin.

The Court affirmed the judgment imposing liability on the shipowner for the stevedore's injury caused by the breaking loading block. The per curiam opinion provided no independent reasoning beyond relying on established unseaworthiness precedent.

The Court held that unauthorized private communications with a juror concerning a pending criminal case are presumptively prejudicial, with the Government bearing a heavy burden to establish harmlessness after notice to and a hearing involving the defendant.

Justice Reed's opinion for the Court held that a federal district court may entertain a motion in the nature of coram nobis to challenge a conviction after the sentence has been fully served. The All Writs Act supplies authority, and neither § 2255 nor Civil Rule 60(b) forecloses this remedy.