Brown v. Illinois
422 U.S. 590 · Decided June 26, 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
Brown v. Illinois was decided on June 26, 1975 unanimously (9–0). 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 “Involuntary confession” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 422 U.S. 590 · 95 S. Ct. 2254 · 45 L. Ed. 2d 416 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 82
- Docket number
- 73-6650
- Decided
- June 26, 1975
- Argued
- March 18, 1975
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Exclusionary rule (Fourth Amendment)
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence |
Full case caption
Brown v. Illinois
SCDB identifiers: case 1974-143, docket 1974-143-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Fontaine v. United States
- Lavallee v. Delle Rose
- Swenson v. Stidham
- Beecher v. Alabama
- Lego v. Twomey
- Dunaway v. New York
Cases on the same legal provision: Exclusionary rule (Fourth Amendment)
- United States v. Janis
- United States v. Calandra
- United States v. Ceccolini
- United States v. Caceres
- United States v. Crews
- United States v. Havens
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