Bowen v. United States
422 U.S. 916 · Decided June 30, 1975 · 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
Bowen v. United States was decided on June 30, 1975 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Retroactivity of new rights” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 422 U.S. 916 · 95 S. Ct. 2569 · 45 L. Ed. 2d 641 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 85
- Docket number
- 73-6848
- Decided
- June 30, 1975
- Argued
- February 18, 1975
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Retroactivity of new rights
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Retroactive application of a constitutional right
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Full case caption
Bowen v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1974-152, docket 1974-152-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Retroactivity of new rights”
- United States v. Peltier
- Cox v. Cook
- Daniel v. Louisiana
- Berry v. City of Cincinnati
- Hankerson v. North Carolina
- Gosa v. Mayden
Cases on the same legal provision: Retroactive application of a constitutional right
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Ring v. United States
- Francisco v. Gathright
- Maness v. Meyers
- Test v. United States
- Daniel v. Louisiana
- Gerstein v. Pugh
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