Brady v. United States
397 U.S. 742 · Decided May 4, 1970 · 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
Brady v. United States was decided on May 4, 1970 unanimously (8–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Plea bargaining” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 397 U.S. 742 · 90 S. Ct. 1463 · 25 L. Ed. 2d 747 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 45
- Docket number
- 270
- Decided
- May 4, 1970
- Argued
- November 18, 1969
- 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
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Plea bargaining
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority |
Full case caption
Brady v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1969-089, docket 1969-089-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Plea bargaining”
- McMann v. Richardson
- Parker v. North Carolina
- North Carolina v. Alford
- Boykin v. Alabama
- McCarthy v. United States
- Santobello v. New York
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Williams v. FloridaAltered precedent
- United States v. Kordel
- United States v. Knox
- Minor v. United States
- Harris v. New York
- Jenkins v. Delaware
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Debacker v. Brainard
- United States v. Knox
- Minor v. United States
- Morales v. New York
- Molinaro v. New Jersey
- Sigler v. Parker
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