United States v. Miller
471 U.S. 130 · Decided April 1, 1985 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
United States v. Miller was decided on April 1, 1985 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miscellaneous criminal procedure” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 471 U.S. 130 · 105 S. Ct. 1811 · 85 L. Ed. 2d 99 · 1985 U.S. LEXIS 200
- Docket number
- 83-1750
- Decided
- April 1, 1985
- Argued
- January 16, 1985
- 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
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Miscellaneous criminal procedure
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (grand jury)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| 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. Miller
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-072, docket 1984-072-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Miscellaneous criminal procedure”
- Patrick Ramirez v. Indiana
- Waller v. Georgia
- Scott Leslie Carmell v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- Charles B. Miller v. Richard A. French
- District of Columbia v. HellerLaw held unconstitutional
- Payne v. Madigan
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (grand jury)
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