Alvarado v. United States
497 U.S. 543 · Decided June 25, 1990 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Alvarado v. United States was decided on June 25, 1990 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Subconstitutional fair procedure, confession of error” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 497 U.S. 543 · 110 S. Ct. 2995 · 111 L. Ed. 2d 439 · 1990 U.S. LEXIS 3400
- Docket number
- 89-6985
- Decided
- June 25, 1990
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Opinion assigned by
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent |
Full case caption
Alvarado v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1989-135, docket 1989-135-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Subconstitutional fair procedure, confession of error”
- Torres-Valencia v. United States
- Mariscal v. United States
- Levine v. United States
- Lurk v. United States
- Ellis v. United States
- Mesarosh v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Michael Terrell v. Terry L. Morris
- James v. Illinois
- Dowling v. United States
- Holland v. Illinois
- Baltimore City Department of Social Services v. Bouknight
- United States v. Rene Martin Verdugo-Urquidez
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