Procunier v. Atchley
400 U.S. 446 · Decided January 19, 1971 · 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
Procunier v. Atchley was decided on January 19, 1971 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Involuntary confession” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 400 U.S. 446 · 91 S. Ct. 485 · 27 L. Ed. 2d 524 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 91
- Docket number
- 44
- Decided
- January 19, 1971
- Argued
- November 18, 1970
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Involuntary confession
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Full case caption
Procunier, Director, California Department of Corrections v. Atchley
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-025, docket 1970-025-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Involuntary confession”
- Monks v. New Jersey
- Sigler v. Parker
- Lego v. Twomey
- Morales v. New York
- Beecher v. Alabama
- Boulden v. Holman
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Colombo v. New York
- Thompson v. United States
- North Carolina v. Alford
- Dutton v. Evans
- Wyman v. James
- Mayberry v. Pennsylvania
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