United States v. Mara, Aka Marasovich

Decided January 22, 1973. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-850 · 410 U.S. 19 (1973) · Cited 379 times

Holding

The specific and narrowly drawn directive to furnish a handwriting specimen, which, like the compelled speech disclosure upheld in United States v.

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.

• Davis v. Mississippi · 394 U.S. 721 (1969)
• Gilbert v. California · 388 U.S. 263 (1967)
• United States v. Wade · 388 U.S. 218 (1967)
• Schmerber v. California · 384 U.S. 757 (1966)
• Terry v. Ohio · 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
• Katz v. United States · 389 U.S. 347 (1967)
• Boyd v. United States · 116 U.S. 616 (1886)
• Alderman v. United States · 394 U.S. 165 (1969)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Camara v. Municipal Court of City and County of San Francisco · 387 U.S. 523 (1967)
• Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
• Stirone v. United States · 361 U.S. 212 (1960)
• Counselman v. Hitchcock · 142 U.S. 547 (1892)
• Hannah v. Larche · 363 U.S. 420 (1960)
• United States v. Bryan · 339 U.S. 323 (1950)
• Coolidge v. New Hampshire · 403 U.S. 443 (1971)
• Jones v. United States · 362 U.S. 257 (1960)
• Rochin v. California · 342 U.S. 165 (1952)
• Jenkins v. McKeithen · 395 U.S. 411 (1969)
• Kastigar v. United States · 406 U.S. 441 (1972)
• Hoffman v. United States · 341 U.S. 479 (1951)
• Costello v. United States · 350 U.S. 359 (1956)
• Rogers v. Richmond · 365 U.S. 534 (1961)
• Harris v. United States · 331 U.S. 145 (1947)
• Dennis v. United States · 384 U.S. 855 (1966)
• Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling · 327 U.S. 186 (1946)
• Go-Bart Importing Co. v. United States · 282 U.S. 344 (1931)
• Brown v. Walker · 161 U.S. 591 (1896)
• Ex Parte Bain · 121 U.S. 1 (1887)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Euge · 444 U.S. 707 (1980)
• Pennsylvania v. Muniz · 496 U.S. 582 (1990)
• United States v. Mandujano · 425 U.S. 564 (1976)
• Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Assn. · 489 U.S. 602 (1989)
• New York v. Quarles · 467 U.S. 649 (1984)
• Andresen v. Maryland · 427 U.S. 463 (1976)
• Cupp v. Murphy · 412 U.S. 291 (1973)
• United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc. · 463 U.S. 418 (1983)
• Pillsbury Co. v. Conboy · 459 U.S. 248 (1983)

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).