Michael D. Crawford v. Washington
541 U.S. 36 · Decided March 8, 2004 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Michael D. Crawford v. Washington was decided on March 8, 2004 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 541 U.S. 36 · 124 S. Ct. 1354 · 158 L. Ed. 2d 177 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 1838
- Docket number
- 02-9410
- Decided
- March 8, 2004
- Argued
- November 10, 2003
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- 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
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Michael D. Crawford v. Washington
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-040, docket 2003-040-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Adrian Martell Davis v. Washington
- Giles v. California
- Benjamin Lee Lilly v. Virginia
- Luis E. Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
- Mark A. Briscoe and Sheldon A. Cypress v. Virginia
- United States v. Edward G. Scheffer
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Clark v. Sweeney
- Berger v. California
- Roberts v. Russell
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Betty Mitchell v. Gregory Esparza
- United States v. Lashawn Lowell Banks
- Maryland v. Joseph Jermaine Pringle
- Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States
- Illinois v. Robert S. Lidster
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