Dunn v. United States
442 U.S. 100 · Decided June 4, 1979 · 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
Dunn v. United States was decided on June 4, 1979 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, perjury” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 442 U.S. 100 · 99 S. Ct. 2190 · 60 L. Ed. 2d 743 · 1979 U.S. LEXIS 121
- Docket number
- 77-6949
- Decided
- June 4, 1979
- Argued
- March 28, 1979
- 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
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Statutory construction of criminal laws, perjury
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Did not participate: Lewis F. Powell Jr..
Full case caption
Dunn v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1978-105, docket 1978-105-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, perjury”
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- United States v. Batchelder
- Lewis v. United States
- Busic v. United States
- Scott v. United States
- United States v. New York Telephone Co.
- Scarborough v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Presnell v. Georgia
- Rakas v. Illinois
- Corbitt v. New Jersey
- Massachusetts v. White
- Michigan v. Doran
- Lee v. Missouri
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