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Biggers v. Tennessee

390 U.S. 404 · Decided March 18, 1968 · 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

Biggers v. Tennessee was decided on March 18, 1968 by a vote of 4–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. The Justices were equally divided, which leaves the lower court's judgment in place without setting precedent. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Line-up identification” in the Criminal Procedure area.

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Case details

Citations
390 U.S. 404 · 88 S. Ct. 979 · 19 L. Ed. 2d 1267 · 1968 U.S. LEXIS 2169
Docket number
237
Decided
March 18, 1968
Argued
January 15, 1968
Court era
Warren Court
Decision type
Equally divided vote
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
4–4
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackEqually divided vote
Justice William O. DouglasEqually divided vote
Chief Justice Earl WarrenEqually divided vote
Justice John M. Harlan IIEqually divided vote
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Equally divided vote
Justice Potter StewartEqually divided vote
Justice Byron R. WhiteEqually divided vote
Justice Abe FortasEqually divided vote

Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.

Full case caption

Biggers v. Tennessee

SCDB identifiers: case 1967-085, docket 1967-085-01.

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Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

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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