Gerstein v. Pugh
420 U.S. 103 · Decided February 18, 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
Gerstein v. Pugh was decided on February 18, 1975 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 420 U.S. 103 · 95 S. Ct. 854 · 43 L. Ed. 2d 54 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 29
- Docket number
- 73-477
- Decided
- February 18, 1975
- Argued
- March 25, 1974
- Reargued
- October 21, 1974
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Full case caption
Gerstein v. Pugh et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1974-037, docket 1974-037-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Air Pollution Variance Board of Colorado v. Western Alfalfa Corp.
- Gooding v. United States
- California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz
- United States v. Edwards
- United States v. Matlock
- United States v. Calandra
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- United States v. Brignoni-Ponce
- United States v. Ortiz
- Cardwell v. Lewis
- Texas v. White
- United States v. Watson
- United States v. Robinson
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Ring v. United States
- Francisco v. Gathright
- Maness v. Meyers
- Test v. United States
- Daniel v. Louisiana
- Lefkowitz v. Newsome
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