Bifulco v. United States
447 U.S. 381 · Decided June 16, 1980 · 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
Bifulco v. United States was decided on June 16, 1980 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, narcotics and alcohol” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 447 U.S. 381 · 100 S. Ct. 2247 · 65 L. Ed. 2d 205 · 1980 U.S. LEXIS 115
- Docket number
- 79-5010
- Decided
- June 16, 1980
- Argued
- February 27, 1980
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 21 U.S.C. § 846
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Bifulco v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1979-120, docket 1979-120-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, narcotics and alcohol”
- United States v. Turkette
- United States v. Moore
- Warden v. Marrero
- Bradley v. United States
- Moshe Gozlon-Peretz v. United States
- Daniel Touby et Ux. v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 21 U.S.C. § 846
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Pilon v. Bordenkircher
- Perrin v. United States
- Ybarra v. Illinois
- Thompson v. United States
- United States v. Bailey
- Tague v. Louisiana
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