Puerto Rico v. Branstad
483 U.S. 219 · Decided June 23, 1987 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Puerto Rico v. Branstad was decided on June 23, 1987 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Subconstitutional fair procedure, fugitive from justice” 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
- 483 U.S. 219 · 107 S. Ct. 2802 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 187 · 1987 U.S. LEXIS 2873
- Docket number
- 85-2116
- Decided
- June 23, 1987
- Argued
- March 30, 1987
- Court era
- Rehnquist 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
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Article IV, Section 2, Paragraph 2 (extradition clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Puerto Rico v. Branstad, Governor of Iowa, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1986-145, docket 1986-145-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Subconstitutional fair procedure, fugitive from justice”
- California v. Superior Court of California
- Jose Antonio Ortega-Rodriguez v. United States
- Brian J. Degen v. United States
- New Mexico v. Timothy Reed
- Estelle v. Dorrough
- Molinaro v. New Jersey
Cases on the same legal provision: Article IV, Section 2, Paragraph 2 (extradition clause)
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Colorado v. Connelly
- Griffith v. Kentucky
- Colorado v. Bertine
- Connecticut v. Barrett
- California v. Brown
- Colorado v. Spring
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