Rosales-Lopez v. United States
451 U.S. 182 · Decided April 21, 1981 · 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
Rosales-Lopez v. United States was decided on April 21, 1981 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, voir dire” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 451 U.S. 182 · 101 S. Ct. 1629 · 68 L. Ed. 2d 22 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 88
- Docket number
- 79-6624
- Decided
- April 21, 1981
- Argued
- January 12, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Extra-legal jury influences, voir dire
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Rosales-Lopez v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1980-074, docket 1980-074-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Extra-legal jury influences, voir dire”
- Turner v. Murray
- Ristaino v. Ross
- Ham v. South Carolina
- Holland v. Illinois
- Dawud Majid Mu'min v. Virginia
- Michael Rivera v. Illinois
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Colorado v. Bannister
- United States v. Difrancesco
- Watkins v. Sowders
- United States v. Morrison
- Mariscal v. United States
- United States v. Cortez
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