Barnes v. United States
Decided June 18, 1973. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 72-5443 · 412 U.S. 837 (1973) · Cited 793 times
Holding
The instruction comports with due process.
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 6–3.
Majority · 6
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Potter Stewart
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 3
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Orville Douglas · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Leary v. United States · 395 U.S. 6 (1969)
- Turner v. United States · 396 U.S. 398 (1970)
- Tot v. United States · 319 U.S. 463 (1943)
- United States v. Gainey · 380 U.S. 63 (1965)
- United States v. Romano · 382 U.S. 136 (1965)
- In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
- Benton v. Maryland · 395 U.S. 784 (1969)
- Thompson v. City of Louisville · 362 U.S. 199 (1960)
- Wilson v. United States · 162 U.S. 613 (1896)
- Yee Hem v. United States · 268 U.S. 178 (1925)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- County Court of Ulster Cty. v. Allen · 442 U.S. 140 (1979)
- Sandstrom v. Montana · 442 U.S. 510 (1979)
- Mullaney v. Wilbur · 421 U.S. 684 (1975)
- Patterson v. New York · 432 U.S. 197 (1977)
- Cupp v. Naughten · 414 U.S. 141 (1973)
- Andresen v. Maryland · 427 U.S. 463 (1976)
- Virginia v. Black · 538 U.S. 343 (2003)
- United States v. Rylander · 460 U.S. 752 (1983)
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 (1973). 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).