Browder v. Director, Department of Corrections of Illinois

Decided January 10, 1978. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 76-5325 · 434 U.S. 257 (1978) · Cited 3,383 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

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.

• United States v. Dieter · 429 U.S. 6 (1976)
• United States v. Healy · 376 U.S. 75 (1964)
• Townsend v. Sain · 372 U.S. 293 (1963)
• Harris v. Nelson · 394 U.S. 286 (1969)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Walker v. Johnston · 312 U.S. 275 (1941)
• Fay v. Noia · 372 U.S. 391 (1963)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Coppedge v. United States · 369 U.S. 438 (1962)
• Wainwright v. Sykes · 433 U.S. 72 (1977)
• Brown v. Illinois · 422 U.S. 590 (1975)
• Stone v. Powell · 428 U.S. 465 (1976)
• Catlin v. United States · 324 U.S. 229 (1945)
• United States v. Robinson · 361 U.S. 220 (1960)
• Ex Parte Lange · 85 U.S. 163 (1874)
• Davis v. Mississippi · 394 U.S. 721 (1969)
• Heflin v. United States · 358 U.S. 415 (1959)
• Thompson v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 375 U.S. 384 (1964)
• Bronson v. Schulten · 104 U.S. 410 (1882)
• United States v. Smith · 331 U.S. 469 (1947)
• Fallen v. United States · 378 U.S. 139 (1964)
• United States v. F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Co. · 356 U.S. 227 (1958)
• Ex Parte Tom Tong · 108 U.S. 556 (1883)

Cited by

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

• Banister v. Davis · 590 U.S. 504 (2020)
• Bowles v. Russell · 551 U.S. 205 (2007)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Coleman v. Thompson · 501 U.S. 722 (1991)
• Houston v. Lack · 487 U.S. 266 (1988)
• Griggs v. Provident Consumer Discount Co. · 459 U.S. 56 (1982)
• O'NEAL v. McAninch · 513 U.S. 432 (1995)
• Baldwin County Welcome Center v. Brown · 466 U.S. 147 (1984)
• Horne v. Flores · 557 U.S. 433 (2009)
• BLOM Bank SAL v. Honickman · 605 U.S. 204 (2025)
• Gonzalez v. Crosby · 545 U.S. 524 (2005)
• Hilton v. Braunskill · 481 U.S. 770 (1987)
• White v. New Hampshire Department of Employment Security · 455 U.S. 445 (1982)
• Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes · 504 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Eberhart v. United States · 546 U.S. 12 (2005)
• Osterneck v. Ernst & Whinney · 489 U.S. 169 (1989)
• Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co. · 537 U.S. 149 (2003)
• Cameron v. EMW Women's Surgical Center, P. S. C. · 595 U.S. 267 (2022)

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: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).