Dowling v. United States
473 U.S. 207 · Decided June 28, 1985 · 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
Dowling v. United States was decided on June 28, 1985 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, miscellaneous” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 473 U.S. 207 · 105 S. Ct. 3127 · 87 L. Ed. 2d 152 · 1985 U.S. LEXIS 88
- Docket number
- 84-589
- Decided
- June 28, 1985
- Argued
- April 17, 1985
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 2314
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Dowling v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-153, docket 1984-153-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, miscellaneous”
- Russell v. United States
- Russello v. United States
- Rodriguez v. United States
- United States v. Kozminski
- Hughey v. United States
- Joseph Williams v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C. § 2314
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Florida v. Rodriguez
- Thompson v. Louisiana
- Luce v. United States
- United States v. Abel
- United States v. Powell
- Garcia 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