United States v. Bailey
444 U.S. 394 · Decided January 21, 1980 · 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
United States v. Bailey was decided on January 21, 1980 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, escape from custody” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 444 U.S. 394 · 100 S. Ct. 624 · 62 L. Ed. 2d 575 · 1980 U.S. LEXIS 69
- Docket number
- 78-990
- Decided
- January 21, 1980
- Argued
- November 7, 1979
- 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
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 751
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.
Full case caption
United States v. Bailey et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1979-024, docket 1979-024-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, escape from custody”
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Pilon v. Bordenkircher
- Perrin v. United States
- Ybarra v. Illinois
- Thompson v. United States
- Tague v. Louisiana
- United States v. Euge
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