Busic v. United States
446 U.S. 398 · Decided May 19, 1980 · 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
Busic v. United States was decided on May 19, 1980 by a vote of 6–3. 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 “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 446 U.S. 398 · 100 S. Ct. 1747 · 64 L. Ed. 2d 381 · 1980 U.S. LEXIS 98
- Docket number
- 78-6020
- Decided
- May 19, 1980
- Argued
- February 27, 1980
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent |
Full case caption
Busic v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1979-085, docket 1979-085-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms”
- Lewis v. United States
- United States v. Batchelder
- Dickerson v. New Banner Institute, Inc.
- Scarborough v. United States
- Barrett v. United States
- Ball v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal crime control and firearms statutes
- Dunn v. United States
- Scott v. United States
- United States v. New York Telephone Co.
- United States v. Donovan
- Iannelli v. United States
- United States v. Giordano
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Pilon v. Bordenkircher
- Perrin v. United States
- Ybarra v. Illinois
- Thompson v. United States
- United States v. Bailey
- Tague v. Louisiana
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