Brookhart v. Janis
384 U.S. 1 · Decided April 18, 1966 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Brookhart v. Janis was decided on April 18, 1966 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 1 · 86 S. Ct. 1245 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 314 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 1817
- Docket number
- 657
- Decided
- April 18, 1966
- Argued
- March 21, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Brookhart v. Janis, Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Hygiene and Correction
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-087, docket 1965-087-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Specht v. Patterson
- Pointer v. TexasAltered precedent
- Douglas v. Alabama
- Washington v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- Smith v. Illinois
- Barber v. Page
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Roberts v. Russell
- Berger v. California
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- First Security National Bank & Trust Co. of Lexington v. United States
- James v. Louisiana
- Harris v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Tehan v. United States ex Rel. Shott
- Baxstrom v. HeroldLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. Ewell
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error