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Burks v. Lasker

441 U.S. 471 · Decided May 14, 1979 · 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

Burks v. Lasker was decided on May 14, 1979 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Securities regulation” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
441 U.S. 471 · 99 S. Ct. 1831 · 60 L. Ed. 2d 404 · 1979 U.S. LEXIS 97
Docket number
77-1724
Decided
May 14, 1979
Argued
January 17, 1979
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
8–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
William J. Brennan Jr.
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
15 U.S.C. § 80
Type of law
Infrequently litigated statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.MajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Potter StewartSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajority
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Special concurrence
Justice John Paul StevensMajority

Did not participate: William H. Rehnquist.

Full case caption

Burks et al. v. Lasker et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1978-089, docket 1978-089-01.

Other cases on “Securities regulation”

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Cases on the same legal provision: 15 U.S.C. § 80

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

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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