Bearden v. Georgia
461 U.S. 660 · Decided May 24, 1983 · 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
Bearden v. Georgia was decided on May 24, 1983 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, payment of fine” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 461 U.S. 660 · 103 S. Ct. 2064 · 76 L. Ed. 2d 221 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 39
- Docket number
- 81-6633
- Decided
- May 24, 1983
- Argued
- January 11, 1983
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, payment of fine
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Bearden v. Georgia
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-087, docket 1982-087-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, payment of fine”
- Tate v. ShortLaw held unconstitutional
- Williams v. IllinoisLaw held unconstitutional
- Morris v. Schoonfield
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Pickett v. BrownLaw held unconstitutional
- Exxon Corp. v. Eagerton
- Martinez v. Bynum
- Brown v. Thomson
- Lehr v. Robertson
- Rogers v. LodgeLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Miranda
- City of Port Arthur v. United States
- City of Lockhart v. United States
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming
- Briscoe v. Lahue
- Arizona v. California
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