Wheat v. United States
486 U.S. 153 · Decided May 23, 1988 · 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
Wheat v. United States was decided on May 23, 1988 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 486 U.S. 153 · 108 S. Ct. 1692 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 140 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2306
- Docket number
- 87-4
- Decided
- May 23, 1988
- Argued
- March 2, 1988
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- 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 Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Wheat v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-086, docket 1987-086-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Satterwhite v. Texas
- Patterson v. Illinois
- Perry v. Leeke
- Burger v. Kemp
- United States v. Monsanto
- Caplin & Drysdale v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin
- Pennsylvania v. Finley
- Strickland v. Washington
- Holloway v. Arkansas
- Moore v. Illinois
- United States v. Ash
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Carpenter v. United States
- Yates v. Aiken
- Lowenfield v. Phelps
- Taylor v. Illinois
- United States v. Owens
- United States v. Thomas O. Robinson, Jr.
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