Santobello v. New York

Decided December 20, 1971. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 70-98 · 404 U.S. 257 (1971) · Cited 5,257 times

Holding

The interests of justice and proper recognition of the prosecution's duties in relation to promises made in connection with 'any agreement on a plea of guilty' require that the judgment be vacated and that the case be remanded to the state courts for further consideration as to whether the circumstances require only that there be specific performance of the agreement on the plea (in which case petitioner should be resentenced by a different judge), or petitioner should be afforded the relief he seeks of withdrawing his guilty plea.

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 4–3.

“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.

• Brady v. United States · 397 U.S. 742 (1970)
• Kercheval v. United States · 274 U.S. 220 (1927)
• Boykin v. Alabama · 395 U.S. 238 (1969)
• Walker v. Johnston · 312 U.S. 275 (1941)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• North Carolina v. Alford · 400 U.S. 25 (1970)
• Powell v. Alabama · 287 U.S. 45 (1932)
• Pointer v. Texas · 380 U.S. 400 (1965)
• Napue v. Illinois · 360 U.S. 264 (1959)
• Duncan v. Louisiana · 391 U.S. 145 (1968)
• Malloy v. Hogan · 378 U.S. 1 (1964)
• Washington v. Texas · 388 U.S. 14 (1967)
• McCarthy v. United States · 394 U.S. 459 (1969)
• Mooney v. Holohan · 294 U.S. 103 (1935)
• Von Moltke v. Gillies · 332 U.S. 708 (1948)
• MacHibroda v. United States · 368 U.S. 487 (1962)
• United States v. Jackson · 390 U.S. 570 (1968)
• Bram v. United States · 168 U.S. 532 (1897)
• White v. Maryland · 373 U.S. 59 (1963)
• Moore v. Michigan · 355 U.S. 155 (1957)
• Lynch v. Overholser · 369 U.S. 705 (1962)
• Waley v. Johnston · 316 U.S. 101 (1942)
• Williams v. Kaiser · 323 U.S. 471 (1945)
• Pennsylvania Ex Rel. Herman v. Claudy · 350 U.S. 116 (1956)

Cited by

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

• Puckett v. United States · 556 U.S. 129 (2009)
• Mabry v. Johnson · 467 U.S. 504 (1984)
• Blackledge v. Allison · 431 U.S. 63 (1977)
• Dukes v. Warden, Connecticut State Prison · 406 U.S. 250 (1972)
• Town of Newton v. Rumery · 480 U.S. 386 (1987)
• Bordenkircher v. Hayes · 434 U.S. 357 (1978)
• Missouri v. Frye · 566 U.S. 134 (2012)
• Chaffin v. Stynchcombe · 412 U.S. 17 (1973)
• United States v. Mezzanatto · 513 U.S. 196 (1995)
• Corbitt v. New Jersey · 439 U.S. 212 (1978)
• Andrew v. White · 604 U.S. 86 (2025)
• Faretta v. California · 422 U.S. 806 (1975)
• Tollett v. Henderson · 411 U.S. 258 (1973)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr · 533 U.S. 289 (2001)
• Michigan v. Mosley · 423 U.S. 96 (1975)
• Kastigar v. United States · 406 U.S. 441 (1972)
• Heckler v. Chaney · 470 U.S. 821 (1985)
• Grady v. Corbin · 495 U.S. 508 (1990)
• Heckler v. Community Health Services of Crawford County, Inc. · 467 U.S. 51 (1984)
• Wade v. United States · 504 U.S. 181 (1992)
• Moore v. Illinois · 408 U.S. 786 (1972)
• Roberts v. Louisiana · 428 U.S. 325 (1976)
• Roberts v. United States · 445 U.S. 552 (1980)
• Heath v. Alabama · 474 U.S. 82 (1985)
• Allee v. Medrano · 416 U.S. 802 (1974)
• Lane v. Williams · 455 U.S. 624 (1982)
• Ricketts v. Adamson · 483 U.S. 1 (1987)
• Lefkowitz v. Newsome · 420 U.S. 283 (1975)

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).