Edwards v. Arizona
451 U.S. 477 · Decided May 18, 1981 · 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
Edwards v. Arizona was decided on May 18, 1981 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miranda warnings” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 451 U.S. 477 · 101 S. Ct. 1880 · 68 L. Ed. 2d 378 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 96
- Docket number
- 79-5269
- Decided
- May 18, 1981
- Argued
- November 5, 1980
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Miranda warnings
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (Miranda warnings)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Full case caption
Edwards v. Arizona
SCDB identifiers: case 1980-086, docket 1980-086-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Miranda warnings”
- California v. Prysock
- Anderson v. Charles
- Rhode Island v. Innis
- Tague v. Louisiana
- Wyrick v. Fields
- Fare v. Michael C.
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Colorado v. Bannister
- United States v. Difrancesco
- Watkins v. Sowders
- United States v. Morrison
- Mariscal v. United States
- United States v. Cortez
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