United States v. Leon
468 U.S. 897 · Decided July 5, 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. Leon was decided on July 5, 1984 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 468 U.S. 897 · 104 S. Ct. 3405 · 82 L. Ed. 2d 677 · 1984 U.S. LEXIS 153
- Docket number
- 82-1771
- Decided
- July 5, 1984
- Argued
- January 17, 1984
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Exclusionary rule (Fourth Amendment)
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Leon et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1983-170, docket 1983-170-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Segura v. United States
- Massachusetts v. Sheppard
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Lopez-Mendoza
- Hudson v. Palmer
- United States v. Karo
- Welsh v. Wisconsin
Cases on the same legal provision: Exclusionary rule (Fourth Amendment)
- United States v. Havens
- United States v. Crews
- Brown v. Illinois
- Arizona v. Isaac Evans
- Linkletter v. Walker
- Angelet v. Fay
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