Estes v. Texas
381 U.S. 532 · Decided June 7, 1965 · 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
Estes v. Texas was decided on June 7, 1965 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, miscellaneous” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 381 U.S. 532 · 85 S. Ct. 1628 · 14 L. Ed. 2d 543 · 1965 U.S. LEXIS 2339
- Docket number
- 256
- Decided
- June 7, 1965
- Argued
- April 1, 1965
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Extra-legal jury influences, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (other provisions)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Concurrence |
Full case caption
Estes v. Texas
SCDB identifiers: case 1964-122, docket 1964-122-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Extra-legal jury influences, miscellaneous”
- Leonard v. United States
- Morford v. United States
- Dennis v. United States
- Chandler v. Florida
- Frazier v. United States
- Fay v. New York
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (other provisions)
- Sheppard v. Maxwell
- Parker v. Gladden
- Witherspoon v. IllinoisLaw held unconstitutional
- Bumper v. North Carolina
- Irvin v. Dowd
- Levine v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Boles v. Stevenson
- Beck v. Ohio
- Turner v. Louisiana
- Stanford v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- Singer v. United States
- United States v. Gainey
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