Pointer v. Texas
380 U.S. 400 · Decided April 5, 1965 · 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
Pointer v. Texas was decided on April 5, 1965 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black 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
- 380 U.S. 400 · 85 S. Ct. 1065 · 13 L. Ed. 2d 923 · 1965 U.S. LEXIS 1481
- Docket number
- 577
- Decided
- April 5, 1965
- Argued
- March 15, 1965
- Court era
- Warren 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
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Pointer v. Texas
SCDB identifiers: case 1964-069, docket 1964-069-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Douglas v. Alabama
- Brookhart v. Janis
- Specht v. Patterson
- Washington v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- Smith v. Illinois
- Barber v. Page
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Roberts v. Russell
- Berger v. California
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Boles v. Stevenson
- Beck v. Ohio
- Turner v. Louisiana
- Stanford v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- Singer v. United States
- United States v. Gainey
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