United States v. Gagnon
470 U.S. 522 · Decided March 18, 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
United States v. Gagnon was decided on March 18, 1985 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 470 U.S. 522 · 105 S. Ct. 1482 · 84 L. Ed. 2d 486 · 1985 U.S. LEXIS 67
- Docket number
- 84-690
- Decided
- March 18, 1985
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Jurisdictional dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| 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
United States v. Gagnon et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-048, docket 1984-048-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Tennessee v. Street
- Delaware v. Fensterer
- United States v. Inadi
- Delaware v. Van Arsdall
- Lee v. Illinois
- New Mexico v. Earnest
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- United States v. Young
- United States v. Benchimol
- United States v. LaneAltered precedent
- United States v. Mechanik
- United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc.
- United States v. Baggot
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