Mills v. Maryland
486 U.S. 367 · Decided June 6, 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
Mills v. Maryland was decided on June 6, 1988 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, jury instructions” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 486 U.S. 367 · 108 S. Ct. 1860 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 384 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2488
- Docket number
- 87-5367
- Decided
- June 6, 1988
- Argued
- March 30, 1988
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Extra-legal jury influences, jury instructions
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- State or local law or regulation
- Type of law
- State or local law or regulation
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent |
Full case caption
Mills v. Maryland
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-100, docket 1987-100-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Extra-legal jury influences, jury instructions”
- Carella v. California
- California v. Brown
- Rose v. Clark
- Tommy Cage v. Louisiana
- Dale Robert Yates v. Parker Evatt
- Francis v. Franklin
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