Carpenter v. United States
484 U.S. 19 · Decided November 16, 1987 · 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
Carpenter v. United States was decided on November 16, 1987 unanimously (8–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, fraud” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 484 U.S. 19 · 108 S. Ct. 316 · 98 L. Ed. 2d 275 · 1987 U.S. LEXIS 4815
- Docket number
- 86-422
- Decided
- November 16, 1987
- Argued
- October 7, 1987
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Statutory construction of criminal laws, fraud
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or Williams Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority |
Full case caption
Carpenter et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-004, docket 1987-004-01.
Related decisions
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Cases on the same legal provision: Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or Williams Act
- Basic Incorporated v. Max L. Levinson
- Pinter v. Dahl
- Randall v. Loftsgaarden
- Rodriguez de Quijas v. Shearson/american Express, Inc.Altered precedent
- Bob Reves v. Ernst & Young
- Bateman Eichler v. Berner
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Yates v. Aiken
- Lowenfield v. Phelps
- Taylor v. Illinois
- United States v. Owens
- United States v. Thomas O. Robinson, Jr.
- Frederick Mathews v. United States
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