United States v. Gouveia
467 U.S. 180 · Decided May 29, 1984 · 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. Gouveia was decided on May 29, 1984 by a vote of 8–1. 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 “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 467 U.S. 180 · 104 S. Ct. 2292 · 81 L. Ed. 2d 146 · 1984 U.S. LEXIS 91
- Docket number
- 83-128
- Decided
- May 29, 1984
- Argued
- March 20, 1984
- 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
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- 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. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Gouveia et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1983-106, docket 1983-106-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Nix v. Williams
- United States v. Cronic
- McKaskle v. Wiggins
- Evitts v. Lucey
- Jones v. Barnes
- Morris v. Slappy
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Strickland v. Washington
- Pennsylvania v. Finley
- McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin
- Holloway v. Arkansas
- Moore v. Illinois
- United States v. Ash
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Autry v. Estelle
- Russello v. United States
- Torres-Valencia v. United States
- Maggio v. Williams
- Wainwright v. Goode
- Sullivan v. Wainwright
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