Katz v. United States

389 U.S. 347, 88 S. Ct. 507, 19 L. Ed. 2D 576 (1967)

From our private database of 47,000+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Katz v. United States

United States Supreme Court
389 U.S. 347, 88 S. Ct. 507, 19 L. Ed. 2D 576 (1967)

RW
Play video

Facts

Federal agents attached an electronic-eavesdropping device to the exterior of a transparent glass-enclosed public telephone booth frequented by Charles Katz (defendant). The agents used this device to conduct a warrantless wiretap of Katz’s phone conversations and collect incriminating evidence, which the government used to prosecute and convict Katz for wire fraud. A circuit court affirmed the conviction, ruling there had been no Fourth Amendment violation because the agents never physically entered space occupied by Katz. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to reconsider the Fourth Amendment issue.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Stewart, J.)

Concurrence (Douglas, J.)

Concurrence (White, J.)

Concurrence (Harlan, J.)

Dissent (Black, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 899,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 899,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,000 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.