Oregon v. Elstad

Decided March 4, 1985. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-773 · 470 U.S. 298 (1985) · Cited 2,824 times

Holding

The Self-Incrimination Clause of the Fifth Amendment does not require the suppression of a confession, made after proper Miranda warnings and a valid waiver of rights, solely because the police had obtained an earlier voluntary but unwarned admission from the suspect.

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.

“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.

• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Michigan v. Tucker · 417 U.S. 433 (1974)
• New York v. Quarles · 467 U.S. 649 (1984)
• Wong Sun v. United States · 371 U.S. 471 (1963)
• Brown v. Illinois · 422 U.S. 590 (1975)
• Harrison v. United States · 392 U.S. 219 (1968)
• United States v. Leon · 468 U.S. 897 (1984)
• McMann v. Richardson · 397 U.S. 759 (1970)
• United States v. Bayer · 331 U.S. 532 (1947)
• California v. Beheler · 463 U.S. 1121 (1983)
• Darwin v. Connecticut · 391 U.S. 346 (1968)
• Schmerber v. California · 384 U.S. 757 (1966)
• Harris v. New York · 401 U.S. 222 (1971)
• Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States · 251 U.S. 385 (1920)
• Nardone v. United States · 308 U.S. 338 (1939)
• Frazier v. Cupp · 394 U.S. 731 (1969)
• Orozco v. Texas · 394 U.S. 324 (1969)
• Taylor v. Alabama · 457 U.S. 687 (1982)
• Lyons v. Oklahoma · 322 U.S. 596 (1944)
• Rhode Island v. Innis · 446 U.S. 291 (1980)
• Haynes v. Washington · 373 U.S. 503 (1963)
• Clewis v. Texas · 386 U.S. 707 (1967)
• Beecher v. Alabama · 389 U.S. 35 (1967)
• Edwards v. Arizona · 451 U.S. 477 (1981)
• Malloy v. Hogan · 378 U.S. 1 (1964)
• Dunaway v. New York · 442 U.S. 200 (1979)
• Michigan v. Mosley · 423 U.S. 96 (1975)
• Kastigar v. United States · 406 U.S. 441 (1972)
• Fare v. Michael C. · 442 U.S. 707 (1979)
• Chambers v. Florida · 309 U.S. 227 (1940)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Patane · 542 U.S. 630 (2004)
• Missouri v. Seibert · 542 U.S. 600 (2004)
• Dickerson v. United States · 530 U.S. 428 (2000)
• Bobby v. Dixon · 565 U.S. 23 (2011)
• Chavez v. Martinez · 538 U.S. 760 (2003)
• Withrow v. Williams · 507 U.S. 680 (1993)
• Vega v. Tekoh · 597 U.S. 134 (2022)
• Fellers v. United States · 540 U.S. 519 (2004)
• Colorado v. Spring · 479 U.S. 564 (1987)
• Moran v. Burbine · 475 U.S. 412 (1986)
• Duckworth v. Eagan · 492 U.S. 195 (1989)
• Connecticut v. Barrett · 479 U.S. 523 (1987)
• Michigan v. Jackson · 475 U.S. 625 (1986)
• Arizona v. Fulminante · 499 U.S. 279 (1991)
• Colorado v. Connelly · 479 U.S. 157 (1986)
• Ohio v. Robinette · 519 U.S. 33 (1996)
• Vasquez v. Hillery · 474 U.S. 254 (1986)
• Patterson v. Illinois · 487 U.S. 285 (1988)
• Arizona v. Roberson · 486 U.S. 675 (1988)
• Michigan v. Harvey · 494 U.S. 344 (1990)
• Arizona v. Mauro · 481 U.S. 520 (1987)
• Bartnicki v. Vopper · 532 U.S. 514 (2001)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).