Tennessee v. Street
471 U.S. 409 · Decided May 13, 1985 · 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
Tennessee v. Street was decided on May 13, 1985 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 471 U.S. 409 · 105 S. Ct. 2078 · 85 L. Ed. 2d 425 · 1985 U.S. LEXIS 9
- Docket number
- 83-2143
- Decided
- May 13, 1985
- Argued
- March 18, 1985
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Did not participate: Lewis F. Powell Jr..
Full case caption
Tennessee v. Street
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-092, docket 1984-092-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- United States v. Gagnon
- Delaware v. Fensterer
- United States v. Inadi
- Delaware v. Van Arsdall
- Lee v. Illinois
- New Mexico v. Earnest
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Berger v. California
- Roberts v. Russell
- Clark v. Sweeney
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Florida v. Rodriguez
- Thompson v. Louisiana
- Luce v. United States
- United States v. Abel
- United States v. Powell
- Garcia 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