United States v. Powell
469 U.S. 57 · Decided December 10, 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. Powell was decided on December 10, 1984 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Subconstitutional fair procedure, miscellaneous” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 469 U.S. 57 · 105 S. Ct. 471 · 83 L. Ed. 2d 461 · 1984 U.S. LEXIS 165
- Docket number
- 83-1307
- Decided
- December 10, 1984
- Argued
- November 5, 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Subconstitutional fair procedure, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- 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 | |
| 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 | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Powell
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-007, docket 1984-007-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Subconstitutional fair procedure, miscellaneous”
- Ray v. United States
- Bank of Nova Scotia v. United States
- Gomez v. United States
- Richard Demarest v. James
- United States v. Darlina K. France
- Peretz v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Florida v. Rodriguez
- Thompson v. Louisiana
- Luce v. United States
- United States v. Abel
- Garcia v. United States
- Smith v. Illinois
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