Carafas v. Lavallee
391 U.S. 234 · Decided May 20, 1968 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Carafas v. Lavallee was decided on May 20, 1968 unanimously (8–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Abe Fortas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” 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. 234 · 88 S. Ct. 1556 · 20 L. Ed. 2d 554 · 1968 U.S. LEXIS 2995
- Docket number
- 71
- Decided
- May 20, 1968
- Argued
- March 27, 1968
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Abe Fortas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- 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 | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.
Full case caption
Carafas v. Lavallee, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1967-126, docket 1967-126-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Peyton v. RoweAltered precedent
- Garrison v. Patterson
- Walker v. Wainwright
- Smith v. Yeager
- Kaufman v. United States
- Rollerson v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Harris, U.S. District Judge (Walker v. Nelson
- Younger v. Gilmore
- Slayton v. Smith
- United States v. Tateo
- Lavallee v. Delle Rose
- Fontaine v. United States
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