Buchanan v. Kentucky

483 U.S. 402 · Decided June 24, 1987 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Buchanan v. Kentucky was decided on June 24, 1987 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, jurors and death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure 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

Buchanan v. Kentucky

SCDB identifiers: case 1986-152, docket 1986-152-01.

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Other cases on “Extra-legal jury influences, jurors and death penalty”

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Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to trial by jury)

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• United States v. Jerry J. Nachtigal
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Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

• Colorado v. Connelly
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• Griffith v. Kentucky
  479 U.S. 314Decided January 13, 19876–3Harry A. Blackmun
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  479 U.S. 367Decided January 14, 19877–2William H. Rehnquist
• Connecticut v. Barrett
  479 U.S. 523Decided January 27, 19877–2William H. Rehnquist
• California v. Brown
  479 U.S. 538Decided January 27, 19875–4William H. Rehnquist
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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