Schneckloth, Conservation Center Superintendent v. Bustamonte

Decided May 29, 1973. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-732 · 412 U.S. 218 (1973) · Cited 11,783 times

Holding

When the subject of a search is not in custody and the State would justify a search on the basis of his consent, the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require that it demonstrate that the consent was in fact voluntary; voluntariness is to be determined from the totality of the surrounding circumstances.

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)
• Kaufman v. United States · 394 U.S. 217 (1969)
• Bumper v. North Carolina · 391 U.S. 543 (1968)
• Coolidge v. New Hampshire · 403 U.S. 443 (1971)
• Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
• Fay v. Noia · 372 U.S. 391 (1963)
• Johnson v. United States · 333 U.S. 10 (1948)
• Linkletter v. Walker · 381 U.S. 618 (1965)
• Culombe v. Connecticut · 367 U.S. 568 (1961)
• Davis v. United States · 328 U.S. 582 (1946)
• Zap v. United States · 328 U.S. 624 (1946)
• Mapp v. Ohio · 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
• Brown v. Allen · 344 U.S. 443 (1953)
• Boykin v. Alabama · 395 U.S. 238 (1969)
• United States v. Wade · 388 U.S. 218 (1967)
• Escobedo v. Illinois · 378 U.S. 478 (1964)
• Warden, Maryland Penitentiary v. Hayden · 387 U.S. 294 (1967)
• Haley v. Ohio · 332 U.S. 596 (1948)
• Walder v. United States · 347 U.S. 62 (1954)
• Fikes v. Alabama · 352 U.S. 191 (1957)
• Katz v. United States · 389 U.S. 347 (1967)
• Brady v. United States · 397 U.S. 742 (1970)
• Chimel v. California · 395 U.S. 752 (1969)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Gilbert v. California · 388 U.S. 263 (1967)
• Green v. United States · 355 U.S. 184 (1957)
• Sanders v. United States · 373 U.S. 1 (1963)
• Elkins v. United States · 364 U.S. 206 (1960)
• Adams v. United States Ex Rel. McCann · 317 U.S. 269 (1943)
• Carnley v. Cochran · 369 U.S. 506 (1962)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Watson · 423 U.S. 411 (1976)
• Schriro v. Landrigan · 550 U.S. 465 (2007)
• United States v. Mendenhall · 446 U.S. 544 (1980)
• Brewer v. Williams · 430 U.S. 387 (1977)
• Withrow v. Williams · 507 U.S. 680 (1993)
• Florida v. Jimeno · 500 U.S. 248 (1991)
• Ohio v. Robinette · 519 U.S. 33 (1996)
• United States v. Drayton · 536 U.S. 194 (2002)
• Rose v. Mitchell · 443 U.S. 545 (1979)
• Edwards v. Arizona · 451 U.S. 477 (1981)
• Stone v. Powell · 428 U.S. 465 (1976)
• Georgia v. Randolph · 547 U.S. 103 (2006)
• Fernandez v. California · 571 U.S. 292 (2014)
• Florida v. Royer · 460 U.S. 491 (1983)
• United States v. Matlock · 415 U.S. 164 (1974)
• Birchfield v. N. Dakota. William Robert Bernard · 579 U.S. 438 (2016)
• Wainwright v. Sykes · 433 U.S. 72 (1977)
• Arizona v. Fulminante · 499 U.S. 279 (1991)
• Illinois v. Rodriguez · 497 U.S. 177 (1990)
• Estelle v. Williams · 425 U.S. 501 (1976)
• Dickerson v. United States · 530 U.S. 428 (2000)
• Wright v. West · 505 U.S. 277 (1992)
• Kuhlmann v. Wilson · 477 U.S. 436 (1986)
• United States v. Peltier · 422 U.S. 531 (1975)
• United States v. Mandujano · 425 U.S. 564 (1976)
• Mitchell v. Wisconsin · 588 U.S. 840 (2019)
• Rakas v. Illinois · 439 U.S. 128 (1978)
• Colorado v. Connelly · 479 U.S. 157 (1986)
• Engle v. Isaac · 456 U.S. 107 (1982)
• Michigan v. Mosley · 423 U.S. 96 (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 (1973). 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).