Taylor v. Kentucky
436 U.S. 478 · Decided May 30, 1978 · 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
Taylor v. Kentucky was decided on May 30, 1978 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, jury instructions” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 436 U.S. 478 · 98 S. Ct. 1930 · 56 L. Ed. 2d 468 · 1978 U.S. LEXIS 95
- Docket number
- 77-5549
- Decided
- May 30, 1978
- Argued
- March 27, 1978
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Extra-legal jury influences, jury instructions
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Taylor v. Kentucky
SCDB identifiers: case 1977-094, docket 1977-094-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Extra-legal jury influences, jury instructions”
- Kentucky v. Whorton
- Henderson v. Kibbe
- Sandstrom v. Montana
- United States v. Pomponio
- Cupp v. Naughten
- Connecticut v. Johnson
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Kulko v. Superior Court of California in and for the City and County of San Francisco (Horn
- Flagg Bros., Inc. v. Brooks
- Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland
- Moorman Manufacturing Co. v. Bair
- Memphis Light v. Craft
- Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Rinaldi v. United States
- Pennsylvania v. Mimms
- United States v. New York Telephone Co.
- Moore v. Illinois
- Smith v. Digmon
- Bordenkircher v. Hayes
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