Faretta v. California
422 U.S. 806 · Decided June 30, 1975 · 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
Faretta v. California was decided on June 30, 1975 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 422 U.S. 806 · 95 S. Ct. 2525 · 45 L. Ed. 2d 562 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 83
- Docket number
- 73-5772
- Decided
- June 30, 1975
- Argued
- November 19, 1974
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- William O. Douglas
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent |
Full case caption
Faretta v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 1974-148, docket 1974-148-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Herring v. New YorkLaw held unconstitutional
- Middendorf v. Henry
- Geders v. United States
- Weatherford v. Bursey
- Brewer v. Williams
- Gagnon v. ScarpelliLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- United States v. Ash
- Moore v. Illinois
- Holloway v. Arkansas
- Kirby v. Illinois
- McConnell v. Rhay
- Arsenault v. Massachusetts
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Ring v. United States
- Francisco v. Gathright
- Maness v. Meyers
- Test v. United States
- Daniel v. Louisiana
- Gerstein v. Pugh
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