Colorado v. Bertine
479 U.S. 367 · Decided January 14, 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
Colorado v. Bertine was decided on January 14, 1987 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure, vehicles” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 479 U.S. 367 · 107 S. Ct. 738 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 739 · 1987 U.S. LEXIS 286
- Docket number
- 85-889
- Decided
- January 14, 1987
- Argued
- November 10, 1986
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure, vehicles
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Concurrence | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority |
Full case caption
Colorado v. Bertine
SCDB identifiers: case 1986-021, docket 1986-021-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure, vehicles”
- New York v. Class
- California v. Carney
- Oklahoma v. Timothy R. Castleberry and Nicholas Raineri
- United States v. Johns
- Brower v. County of Inyo
- Florida v. Meyers
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Maryland v. Garrison
- United States v. Dunn
- Arizona v. Hicks
- O'Connor v. Ortega
- New York v. Burger
- Griffin v. Wisconsin
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Colorado v. Connelly
- Griffith v. Kentucky
- Connecticut v. Barrett
- California v. Brown
- Colorado v. Spring
- Pennsylvania v. Ritchie
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