Allen v. Illinois

478 U.S. 364 · Decided July 1, 1986 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Allen v. Illinois was decided on July 1, 1986 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Self-incrimination (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Allen v. Illinois

SCDB identifiers: case 1985-151, docket 1985-151-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Self-incrimination (general)”

• Wainwright v. Greenfield
  474 U.S. 284Decided January 14, 19869–0John Paul Stevens
• United States v. Thomas O. Robinson, Jr.
  485 U.S. 25Decided February 24, 19885–3William H. Rehnquist
• Braswell v. United States
  487 U.S. 99Decided June 22, 19885–4William H. Rehnquist
• Doe v. United States
  487 U.S. 201Decided June 22, 19888–1Harry A. Blackmun
• Selective Service System v. Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
  468 U.S. 841Decided July 5, 19846–2Warren E. Burger
• United States v. Doe
  465 U.S. 605Decided February 28, 19846–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)

• Moran v. Burbine
  475 U.S. 412Decided March 10, 19866–3Sandra Day O'Connor
• Colorado v. Spring
  479 U.S. 564Decided January 27, 19877–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Pillsbury Co. v. Conboy
  459 U.S. 248Decided January 11, 19837–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Robert S. Minnick v. Mississippi
  498 U.S. 146Decided December 3, 19906–2Anthony M. Kennedy
• United States v. Apfelbaum
  445 U.S. 115Decided March 3, 19809–0William H. Rehnquist
• New Jersey v. Portash
  440 U.S. 450Decided March 20, 19797–2Potter Stewart

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

• Delaware v. Fensterer
  474 U.S. 15Decided November 4, 19857–2Per curiam
• Lanier v. South Carolina
  474 U.S. 25Decided November 4, 19858–1Per curiam
• Pennsylvania v. Goldhammer
  474 U.S. 28Decided November 12, 19855–4Per curiam
• Hill v. Lockhart
  474 U.S. 52Decided November 18, 19859–0William H. Rehnquist
• Heath v. Alabama
  474 U.S. 82Decided December 3, 19857–2Sandra Day O'Connor
• Miller v. Fenton
  474 U.S. 104Decided December 3, 19858–1Sandra Day O'Connor

See all

Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error