Block v. Rutherford

468 U.S. 576 · Decided July 3, 1984 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Block v. Rutherford was decided on July 3, 1984 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights” in the Due Process 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

Block, Sheriff of the County of Los Angeles, et al. v. Rutherford et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1983-161, docket 1983-161-01.

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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