Hankerson v. North Carolina
432 U.S. 233 · Decided June 17, 1977 · 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
Hankerson v. North Carolina was decided on June 17, 1977 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Retroactivity of new rights” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 432 U.S. 233 · 97 S. Ct. 2339 · 53 L. Ed. 2d 306 · 1977 U.S. LEXIS 121
- Docket number
- 75-6568
- Decided
- June 17, 1977
- Argued
- February 23, 1977
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Retroactivity of new rights
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Retroactive application of a constitutional right
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Did not participate: William H. Rehnquist.
Full case caption
Hankerson v. North Carolina
SCDB identifiers: case 1976-145, docket 1976-145-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Retroactivity of new rights”
- Lee v. Missouri
- Bowen v. United States
- United States v. Peltier
- Cox v. Cook
- Daniel v. Louisiana
- Brown v. Louisiana
Cases on the same legal provision: Retroactive application of a constitutional right
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Morrison
- United States v. Rose
- United States v. Dieter
- United States v. Pomponio
- United States v. Sanford
- Moore v. United States
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