CaseTrail

Murray v. United States

487 U.S. 533 · Decided June 27, 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

Murray v. United States was decided on June 27, 1988 by a vote of 4–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
487 U.S. 533 · 108 S. Ct. 2529 · 101 L. Ed. 2d 472 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2881
Docket number
86-995
Decided
June 27, 1988
Argued
December 8, 1987
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
4–3
Majority opinion
Antonin Scalia
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Fourth Amendment
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajority
Chief Justice William H. RehnquistMajority
Justice John Paul StevensDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorDissent
Justice Antonin ScaliaMajorityWrote an opinion

Did not participate: William J. Brennan Jr., Anthony M. Kennedy.

Full case caption

Murray v. United States

SCDB identifiers: case 1987-146, docket 1987-146-01.

Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

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