Burks v. United States
437 U.S. 1 · Decided June 14, 1978 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Burks v. United States was decided on June 14, 1978 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Double jeopardy” 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
- 437 U.S. 1 · 98 S. Ct. 2141 · 57 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1978 U.S. LEXIS 3
- Docket number
- 76-6528
- Decided
- June 14, 1978
- Argued
- November 28, 1977
- 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
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Double jeopardy
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
- 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 William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Did not participate: Harry A. Blackmun.
Full case caption
Burks v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1977-109, docket 1977-109-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Double jeopardy”
- Greene v. Massey
- Crist v. Bretz
- Sanabria v. United States
- United States v. ScottAltered precedent
- United States v. Wheeler
- Arizona v. Washington
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Rinaldi v. United States
- Pennsylvania v. Mimms
- United States v. New York Telephone Co.
- Moore v. Illinois
- Smith v. Digmon
- Bordenkircher v. Hayes
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