United States v. Santana
427 U.S. 38 · Decided June 24, 1976 · 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. Santana was decided on June 24, 1976 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist 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
- 427 U.S. 38 · 96 S. Ct. 2406 · 49 L. Ed. 2d 300 · 1976 U.S. LEXIS 71
- Docket number
- 75-19
- Decided
- June 24, 1976
- Argued
- April 27, 1976
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- 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. | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| 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 | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States v. Santana et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1975-145, docket 1975-145-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- United States v. Janis
- United States v. Miller
- G. M. Leasing Corp. v. United States
- United States v. Ramsey
- Gerstein v. Pugh
- United States v. New York Telephone Co.
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- South Dakota v. Opperman
- United States v. Martinez-Fuerte
- United States v. Watson
- Texas v. White
- United States v. Brignoni-Ponce
- United States v. Ortiz
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Rose v. Hodges
- Menna v. New York
- Dillingham v. United States
- Texas v. White
- Michigan v. Mosley
- United States v. Moore
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