Scarborough v. United States
431 U.S. 563 · Decided June 6, 1977 · 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
Scarborough v. United States was decided on June 6, 1977 by a vote of 7–1. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 431 U.S. 563 · 97 S. Ct. 1963 · 52 L. Ed. 2d 582 · 1977 U.S. LEXIS 2230
- Docket number
- 75-1344
- Decided
- June 6, 1977
- Argued
- March 2, 1977
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Did not participate: William H. Rehnquist.
Full case caption
Scarborough v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1976-119, docket 1976-119-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms”
- Barrett v. United States
- United States v. Batchelder
- Lewis v. United States
- Busic v. United States
- Huddleston v. United States
- United States v. Bass
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- United States v. Donovan
- United States v. New York Telephone Co.
- Scott v. United States
- Dunn v. United States
- Iannelli v. United States
- United States v. Giordano
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Morrison
- United States v. Rose
- United States v. Dieter
- United States v. Pomponio
- United States v. Sanford
- Moore v. United States
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