Santobello v. New York
404 U.S. 257 · Decided December 20, 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
Santobello v. New York was decided on December 20, 1971 by a vote of 4–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Plea bargaining” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 404 U.S. 257 · 92 S. Ct. 495 · 30 L. Ed. 2d 427 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 1
- Docket number
- 70-98
- Decided
- December 20, 1971
- Argued
- November 15, 1971
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 4–3
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Plea bargaining
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Full case caption
Santobello v. New York
SCDB identifiers: case 1971-026, docket 1971-026-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Plea bargaining”
- Dukes v. Warden
- North Carolina v. Alford
- Tollett v. Henderson
- Brady v. United States
- McMann v. Richardson
- Parker v. North Carolina
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Harris v. Washington
- Cruz v. Hauck
- Wilwording v. Swenson
- Picard v. Connor
- United States v. Campos-Serrano
- United States v. Marion
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