Barker v. Wingo, Warden

Decided June 22, 1972. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-5255 · 407 U.S. 514 (1972) · Cited 12,108 times

Holding

A defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial cannot be established by any inflexible rule but can be determined only on an ad hoc balancing basis, in which the conduct of the prosecution and that of the defendant are weighed.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Dickey v. Florida · 398 U.S. 30 (1970)
• United States v. Marion · 404 U.S. 307 (1971)
• United States v. Ewell · 383 U.S. 116 (1966)
• Klopfer v. North Carolina · 386 U.S. 213 (1967)
• Carnley v. Cochran · 369 U.S. 506 (1962)
• Smith v. Hooey · 393 U.S. 374 (1969)
• Pollard v. United States · 352 U.S. 354 (1957)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Boykin v. Alabama · 395 U.S. 238 (1969)
• Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
• Ohio Bell Telephone Co. v. Public Utilities Commission · 301 U.S. 292 (1937)
• Aetna Insurance v. Kennedy Ex Rel. Bogash · 301 U.S. 389 (1937)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Doggett v. United States · 505 U.S. 647 (1992)
• United States v. Loud Hawk · 474 U.S. 302 (1986)
• Vermont v. Brillon · 556 U.S. 81 (2009)
• United States v. Eight Thousand Eight Hundred & Fifty Dollars · 461 U.S. 555 (1983)
• Moore v. Arizona · 414 U.S. 25 (1973)
• Strunk v. United States · 412 U.S. 434 (1973)
• United States v. MacDonald · 435 U.S. 850 (1978)
• Gannett Co. v. DePasquale · 443 U.S. 368 (1979)
• United States v. MacDonald · 456 U.S. 1 (1982)
• United States v. Von Neumann · 474 U.S. 242 (1986)
• Solem v. Helm · 463 U.S. 277 (1983)
• Estelle v. Williams · 425 U.S. 501 (1976)
• United States v. Taylor · 487 U.S. 326 (1988)
• Schriro v. Landrigan · 550 U.S. 465 (2007)
• Culley v. Marshall · 601 U.S. 377 (2024)
• Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit Court of Kentucky · 410 U.S. 484 (1973)
• United States v. Valenzuela-Bernal · 458 U.S. 858 (1982)
• Flanagan v. United States · 465 U.S. 259 (1984)
• Reed v. Farley · 512 U.S. 339 (1994)
• Thomas v. Arn · 474 U.S. 140 (1985)
• Schneckloth v. Bustamonte · 412 U.S. 218 (1973)
• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Wainwright v. Sykes · 433 U.S. 72 (1977)
• Baker v. McCollan · 443 U.S. 137 (1979)
• McDonald v. City of Chicago · 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
• Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart · 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
• Wright v. West · 505 U.S. 277 (1992)
• Moody v. Daggett · 429 U.S. 78 (1976)
• Moore v. Illinois · 408 U.S. 786 (1972)
• United States v. Gouveia · 467 U.S. 180 (1984)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1972). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).