Houston v. Lack
487 U.S. 266 · Decided June 24, 1988 · 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
Houston v. Lack was decided on June 24, 1988 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Subconstitutional fair procedure, timeliness” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 487 U.S. 266 · 108 S. Ct. 2379 · 101 L. Ed. 2d 245 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2875
- Docket number
- 87-5428
- Decided
- June 24, 1988
- Argued
- April 27, 1988
- Court era
- Rehnquist 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
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Subconstitutional fair procedure, timeliness
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal Rules of Civil or Appellate Procedure
- Type of law
- Court rules
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent |
Full case caption
Houston v. Lack, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-136, docket 1987-136-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Civil or Appellate Procedure
- Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co.
- Amadeo v. Zant
- Mercilyn Buchanan Etc. v. Stanships, Inc.
- City of St. Louis v. James H. Praprotnik
- Omni Capital International, Ltd. v. Rudolf Wolff & Co., Ltd.
- Karcher v. May
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Carpenter v. United States
- Yates v. Aiken
- Lowenfield v. Phelps
- Taylor v. Illinois
- United States v. Owens
- United States v. Thomas O. Robinson, Jr.
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