CaseTrail

United States v. Sokolow

490 U.S. 1 · Decided April 3, 1989 · 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. Sokolow was decided on April 3, 1989 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief 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
490 U.S. 1 · 109 S. Ct. 1581 · 104 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 1694
Docket number
87-1295
Decided
April 3, 1989
Argued
January 10, 1989
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
7–2
Majority opinion
William H. Rehnquist
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Appeal
Legal provision
Fourth Amendment
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

United States v. Sokolow

SCDB identifiers: case 1988-066, docket 1988-066-01.

Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment

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