Illinois v. Allen
397 U.S. 337 · Decided March 31, 1970 · 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
Illinois v. Allen was decided on March 31, 1970 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 397 U.S. 337 · 90 S. Ct. 1057 · 25 L. Ed. 2d 353 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 55
- Docket number
- 606
- Decided
- March 31, 1970
- Argued
- February 24, 1970
- 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
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority |
Full case caption
Illinois v. Allen
SCDB identifiers: case 1969-068, docket 1969-068-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- California v. Green
- Dutton v. Evans
- Harrington v. California
- Nelson v. O'Neil
- Hopper v. Louisiana
- Wade v. Yeager
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Berger v. California
- Roberts v. Russell
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Debacker v. Brainard
- United States v. Knox
- Minor v. United States
- Morales v. New York
- Molinaro v. New Jersey
- Sigler v. Parker
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