United States v. Christopher Lee Armstrong
517 U.S. 456 · Decided May 13, 1996 · 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. Christopher Lee Armstrong was decided on May 13, 1996 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 517 U.S. 456 · 116 S. Ct. 1480 · 134 L. Ed. 2d 687 · 1996 U.S. LEXIS 3239
- Docket number
- 95-157
- Decided
- May 13, 1996
- Argued
- February 26, 1996
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Type of law
- Court rules
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States v. Christopher Lee Armstrong et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1995-048, docket 1995-048-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Tana Wood v. Dwayne Earl Bartholomew
- Curtis Lee Kyles v. John P. Whitley
- William Bracy v. Richard B. Gramley
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Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Charles Carlisle v. United States
- Joseph Libretti v. United States
- Joyce B. Johnson v. United States
- United States v. Robert E. Hyde
- United States v. Gary Mezzanatto
- Matthew Wayne Tome v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Tana Wood v. Dwayne Earl Bartholomew
- Lem Davis Tuggle, Jr. v. J. D. Netherland
- Joseph Libretti v. United States
- Carl Thompson v. Patrick Keohane
- Roland J. Bailey v. United States
- Meirl Gilbert Neal 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