Moore v. Illinois

434 U.S. 220 · Decided December 12, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Moore v. Illinois was decided on December 12, 1977 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Line-up identification” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: John Paul Stevens.

Full case caption

Moore v. Illinois

SCDB identifiers: case 1977-018, docket 1977-018-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Line-up identification”

• Manson v. Brathwaite
  432 U.S. 98Decided June 16, 19777–2Harry A. Blackmun
• United States v. Crews
  445 U.S. 463Decided March 25, 19808–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Watkins v. Sowders
  449 U.S. 341Decided January 13, 19817–2Potter Stewart
• United States v. Ash
  413 U.S. 300Decided June 21, 19736–3Harry A. Blackmun
• Kirby v. Illinois
  406 U.S. 682Decided June 7, 19725–4Potter Stewart
• Foster v. California
  394 U.S. 440Decided April 1, 19695–4Abe Fortas

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Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)

• Holloway v. Arkansas
  435 U.S. 475Decided April 3, 19786–3Warren E. Burger
• Brewer v. Williams
  430 U.S. 387Decided March 23, 19775–4Potter Stewart
• Weatherford v. Bursey
  429 U.S. 545Decided February 22, 19777–2Byron R. White
• Scott v. Illinois
  440 U.S. 367Decided March 5, 19795–4William H. Rehnquist
• Geders v. United States
  425 U.S. 80Decided March 30, 19768–0Warren E. Burger
• Middendorf v. Henry
  425 U.S. 25Decided March 24, 19765–3William H. Rehnquist

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

• Rinaldi v. United States
  434 U.S. 22Decided November 7, 19776–3Per curiam
• Pennsylvania v. Mimms
  434 U.S. 106Decided December 5, 19776–3Per curiam
• United States v. New York Telephone Co.
  434 U.S. 159Decided December 7, 19775–4Byron R. White
• Smith v. Digmon
  434 U.S. 332Decided January 16, 19789–0Per curiam
• Bordenkircher v. Hayes
  434 U.S. 357Decided January 18, 19785–4Potter Stewart
• Arizona v. Washington
  434 U.S. 497Decided February 21, 19786–3John Paul Stevens

See all

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