CaseTrail

United States v. Mechanik

475 U.S. 66 · Decided February 25, 1986 · 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. Mechanik was decided on February 25, 1986 by a vote of 8–1. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part and reversed or vacated it in part. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
475 U.S. 66 · 106 S. Ct. 938 · 89 L. Ed. 2d 50 · 1986 U.S. LEXIS 3
Docket number
84-1640
Decided
February 25, 1986
Argued
December 2, 1985
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part
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
Legal provision
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
Type of law
Court rules
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Special concurrence
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallDissentWrote an opinion
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Harry A. BlackmunSpecial concurrence
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Majority
Justice William H. RehnquistMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice John Paul StevensMajority
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion

Full case caption

United States v. Mechanik et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1985-035, docket 1985-035-01.

Other cases on “Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure”

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

See all

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