Donnelly v. Dechristoforo
Decided May 13, 1974. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 72-1570 · 416 U.S. 637 (1974) · Cited 3,922 times
Holding
In the circumstances of this case, where the prosecutor's ambiguous remark in the course of an extended trial was followed by the trial court's specific disapproving instructions, no prejudice amounting to a denial of constitutional due process was shown.
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 · 4
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Warren Earl Burger
Concurring · 2
- Byron Raymond White
- Potter Stewart · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
- 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.
- Miller v. Pate · 386 U.S. 1 (1967)
- Brady v. Maryland · 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
- Pointer v. Texas · 380 U.S. 400 (1965)
- Cupp v. Naughten · 414 U.S. 141 (1973)
- Chambers v. Mississippi · 410 U.S. 284 (1973)
- Griffin v. California · 380 U.S. 609 (1965)
- Berger v. United States · 295 U.S. 78 (1935)
- Napue v. Illinois · 360 U.S. 264 (1959)
- Irvin v. Dowd · 366 U.S. 717 (1961)
- Sheppard v. Maxwell · 384 U.S. 333 (1966)
- Mooney v. Holohan · 294 U.S. 103 (1935)
- Lisenba v. California · 314 U.S. 219 (1942)
- Kercheval v. United States · 274 U.S. 220 (1927)
- Turner v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 466 (1965)
- Ferguson v. Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. · 352 U.S. 521 (1957)
- Cool v. United States · 409 U.S. 100 (1972)
- Boyd v. United States · 271 U.S. 104 (1926)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Sawyer v. Smith · 497 U.S. 227 (1990)
- Caldwell v. Mississippi · 472 U.S. 320 (1985)
- Darden v. Wainwright · 477 U.S. 168 (1986)
- Romano v. Oklahoma · 512 U.S. 1 (1994)
- Estelle v. McGuire · 502 U.S. 62 (1991)
- United States v. Young · 470 U.S. 1 (1985)
- McCleskey v. Kemp · 481 U.S. 279 (1987)
- United States v. Hasting · 461 U.S. 499 (1983)
- Greer v. Miller · 483 U.S. 756 (1987)
- Andrew v. White · 604 U.S. 86 (2025)
- Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
- United States v. Agurs · 427 U.S. 97 (1976)
- Smith v. Phillips · 455 U.S. 209 (1982)
- Boyde v. California · 494 U.S. 370 (1990)
- Lewis v. Jeffers · 497 U.S. 764 (1990)
- Mayle v. Felix · 545 U.S. 644 (2005)
- Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 420 (2000)
- Parker v. Matthews · 567 U.S. 37 (2012)
- Wainwright v. Greenfield · 474 U.S. 284 (1986)
- United States v. Williams · 504 U.S. 36 (1992)
- South Carolina v. Gathers · 490 U.S. 805 (1989)
- Dugger v. Adams · 489 U.S. 401 (1989)
- Dye v. Hofbauer · 546 U.S. 1 (2005)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). 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).