Turner v. United States
396 U.S. 398 · Decided January 20, 1970 · 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
Turner v. United States was decided on January 20, 1970 by a vote of 6–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part and reversed or vacated it in part. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, miscellaneous” in the Due Process area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 396 U.S. 398 · 90 S. Ct. 642 · 24 L. Ed. 2d 610 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 3146
- Docket number
- 190
- Decided
- January 20, 1970
- Argued
- October 15, 1969
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Due process, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Due Process
- Legal provision
- 21 U.S.C. § 174
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority |
Full case caption
Turner v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1969-031, docket 1969-031-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Due process, miscellaneous”
- Palmer v. City of EuclidLaw held unconstitutional
- Johnson v. Florida
- Groppi v. Leslie
- Giglio v. United States
- Papachristou v. City of JacksonvilleLaw held unconstitutional
- Smith v. Florida
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