Supreme Court of the United States, 1963

The Court, through Chief Justice Warren, held that § 106(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act gives the Courts of Appeals initial, exclusive jurisdiction to review denials of suspension of deportation made during deportation proceedings.

The Court held that the exclusive appellate-review procedure applies not only to findings of deportability but also to denials of discretionary suspension of deportation made in the same administrative proceeding.

The Court affirmed the Kers’ convictions. Part I of Justice Clark’s opinion, supported by eight Justices, held that state searches and seizures are governed by the same Fourth Amendment constitutional standards applicable to federal officers, while distinguishing constitutional requirements from rules imposed through…

Chief Justice Warren delivered the unanimous opinion holding that Florida could not prohibit a federally registered nonlawyer patent practitioner from performing services reasonably necessary and incident to preparing and prosecuting patent applications before the Patent Office.

Justice Brennan's opinion held that federal avocado marketing regulations did not preempt California's minimum oil-content requirement and that the requirement survived the growers' equal protection challenge.

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Douglas announced by Justice Brennan, held that prosecutorial suppression of requested evidence favorable to an accused violates due process when the evidence is material to guilt or punishment, regardless of prosecutorial good or bad faith.

The Supreme Court held that admiralty jurisdiction extends to torts caused by a shipowner’s negligence or unseaworthiness even when the injury occurs on land, that the shipowner was negligent in allowing defective bean bags to be unloaded, that defective cargo containers constitute unseaworthiness and that the…

The Supreme Court held that a U.S. trust with British beneficiaries is not a “resident of the United Kingdom” under Article XIV of the 1945 Income Tax Convention and therefore is not exempt from U.S. income tax on its retained capital gains.

Justice Brennan's opinion held that Sanders was entitled to a hearing on his second § 2255 motion alleging drug-induced mental incompetence. Section 2255's successive-motion provision is materially equivalent to § 2244, not a rule of res judicata.

Justice Goldberg's opinion for the Court reversed Gibson's contempt conviction for refusing to produce NAACP membership records for use in answering a Florida legislative committee's questions.

The Supreme Court reversed the Florida Supreme Court’s contempt judgment, holding that the state legislative committee could not compel the NAACP’s Miami branch to disclose its membership lists because the committee failed to show a substantial nexus between the organization and alleged subversive activity, and thus…

The Court, through Justice Brennan, affirmed the judgment granting Noia conditional habeas relief from a conviction concededly based on a coerced confession. It held that a state procedural default does not eliminate federal habeas jurisdiction, that statutory exhaustion concerns only state remedies still available…

Justice Douglas's opinion for the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires appointed counsel for indigent defendants on their first criminal appeal as of right. California could not condition appointment on an appellate court's preliminary examination of the record for merit, because that procedure denied…

The Court held that Townsend was entitled to a federal evidentiary hearing on his claim that drugs administered during police custody rendered his confession involuntary. A confession produced by an overborne will is inadmissible regardless of whether the interrogators knew the drug's properties.

The Court held that Rhode Island's system of informal censorship violated the Fourteenth Amendment: official notices backed by threats of prosecution and police visits coerced distributors into suppressing publications without procedural safeguards protecting freedom of expression.

Justice Goldberg's opinion held that the statutes automatically withdrawing citizenship for leaving or remaining abroad to evade military service imposed punishment without the criminal procedural safeguards required by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

The Court held that California's minimum milk prices could not be applied to purchases for military use paid from appropriated funds because federal procurement law required competition and federal officers to obtain the most advantageous terms.

The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions of Shotwell Manufacturing Co. and its officers, holding that the Fifth Amendment does not bar the use of evidence obtained under the Treasury’s voluntary disclosure policy because the disclosures were fraudulent, and rejecting the defendants’ motions for a new trial and for…

The Court, through Justice Douglas, held that federal military procurement statutes and regulations preclude California from enforcing minimum wholesale milk prices on purchases made with appropriated funds, including purchases for resale at military commissaries.

The Court, in an opinion by Brennan, held that Toy's arrest lacked probable cause and that his immediate statements and the heroin discovered through them were inadmissible against him as fruits of unlawful police conduct. A codefendant's post-arrest statement could not corroborate his admissions.