Nix, Warden of the Iowa State Penitentiary v. Williams

Decided June 11, 1984. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-1651 · 467 U.S. 431 (1984) · Cited 3,080 times

Holding

The evidence pertaining to the discovery and condition of the victim's body was properly admitted at respondent's second trial on the ground that it would ultimately or inevitably have been discovered even if no violation of any constitutional provision had taken place.

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 7–2.

“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.

• Brewer v. Williams · 430 U.S. 387 (1977)
• United States v. Wade · 388 U.S. 218 (1967)
• Massiah v. United States · 377 U.S. 201 (1964)
• Wong Sun v. United States · 371 U.S. 471 (1963)
• Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States · 251 U.S. 385 (1920)
• Murphy v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor · 378 U.S. 52 (1964)
• Stone v. Powell · 428 U.S. 465 (1976)
• Spano v. New York · 360 U.S. 315 (1959)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• United States v. Cronic · 466 U.S. 648 (1984)
• Kastigar v. United States · 406 U.S. 441 (1972)
• United States v. Ash · 413 U.S. 300 (1973)
• Strickland v. Washington · 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Anders v. California · 386 U.S. 738 (1967)
• Terry v. Ohio · 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
• Chapman v. California · 386 U.S. 18 (1967)
• Schneckloth v. Bustamonte · 412 U.S. 218 (1973)
• Santosky v. Kramer · 455 U.S. 745 (1982)
• Mapp v. Ohio · 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
• Stovall v. Denno · 388 U.S. 293 (1967)
• Polk County v. Dodson · 454 U.S. 312 (1981)
• Gilbert v. California · 388 U.S. 263 (1967)
• United States v. Matlock · 415 U.S. 164 (1974)
• United States v. Calandra · 414 U.S. 338 (1974)
• Addington v. Texas · 441 U.S. 418 (1979)
• Elkins v. United States · 364 U.S. 206 (1960)
• Lego v. Twomey · 404 U.S. 477 (1972)
• Weatherford v. Bursey · 429 U.S. 545 (1977)
• United States v. Janis · 428 U.S. 433 (1976)
• Herring v. New York · 422 U.S. 853 (1975)

Cited by

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

• Murray v. United States · 487 U.S. 533 (1988)
• Hudson v. Michigan · 547 U.S. 586 (2006)
• Medina v. California · 505 U.S. 437 (1992)
• United States v. Patane · 542 U.S. 630 (2004)
• Lange v. California · 594 U.S. 295 (2021)
• Ornelas v. United States · 517 U.S. 690 (1996)
• Colorado v. Connelly · 479 U.S. 157 (1986)
• Bourjaily v. United States · 483 U.S. 171 (1987)
• Dickerson v. United States · 530 U.S. 428 (2000)
• Missouri v. Seibert · 542 U.S. 600 (2004)
• Wilson v. Arkansas · 514 U.S. 927 (1995)
• New York v. Class · 475 U.S. 106 (1986)
• Michigan v. Harvey · 494 U.S. 344 (1990)
• Hayes v. Florida · 470 U.S. 811 (1985)
• United States v. Ramirez · 523 U.S. 65 (1998)
• Utah v. Strieff · 579 U.S. 232 (2016)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). 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).