Bruton v. United States
391 U.S. 123 · Decided May 20, 1968 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Bruton v. United States was decided on May 20, 1968 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 391 U.S. 123 · 88 S. Ct. 1620 · 20 L. Ed. 2d 476 · 1968 U.S. LEXIS 1630
- Docket number
- 705
- Decided
- May 20, 1968
- Argued
- March 11, 1968
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.
Full case caption
Bruton v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1967-121, docket 1967-121-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Jones v. United States
- Pickens v. Oliver
- Santoro v. United States
- Nelson v. United States
- Hunt v. Connecticut
- Serio v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Roberts v. Russell
- Berger v. California
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Bitter v. United States
- Roberts v. United States
- Wood v. United States
- Pinto v. Pierce
- Beecher v. Alabama
- Garner v. Yeager
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