Nelson, Warden v. O'Neil
Decided June 1, 1971. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 336 · 402 U.S. 622 (1971) · Cited 427 times
Holding
Where a codefendant takes the stand in his own defense, denies making an alleged out-of-court statement implicating the defendant, and testifies in the defendant's favor, the defendant has been denied no rights protected by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments and in the circumstances of this case respondent, who would have encountered greater difficulty had Runnels affirmed the statement as his, was denied neither the opportunity nor the benefit of fully and effectively cross-examining Runnels.
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 · 5
- Potter Stewart · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Hugo Lafayette Black
- Warren Earl Burger
Concurring · 1
- John Marshall Harlan · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Thurgood Marshall · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Orville Douglas
“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.
- Bruton v. United States · 391 U.S. 123 (1968)
- Roberts v. Russell · 392 U.S. 293 (1968)
- California v. Green · 399 U.S. 149 (1970)
- Douglas v. Alabama · 380 U.S. 415 (1965)
- MacKey v. United States · 401 U.S. 667 (1971)
- Chapman v. California · 386 U.S. 18 (1967)
- Pointer v. Texas · 380 U.S. 400 (1965)
- Harrington v. California · 395 U.S. 250 (1969)
- Barber v. Page · 390 U.S. 719 (1968)
- Brookhart v. Janis · 384 U.S. 1 (1966)
- Delli Paoli v. United States · 352 U.S. 232 (1957)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- United States v. Owens · 484 U.S. 554 (1988)
- United States v. Inadi · 475 U.S. 387 (1986)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1971). 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).