Hester v. Illinois
397 U.S. 660 · Decided April 27, 1970 · 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
Hester v. Illinois was decided on April 27, 1970 by a vote of 5–3. SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “No merits, writ improvidently granted” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 397 U.S. 660 · 90 S. Ct. 1408 · 25 L. Ed. 2d 642 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 1983
- Docket number
- 82
- Decided
- April 27, 1970
- Argued
- November 18, 1969
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- No merits, writ improvidently granted
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Writ improvidently granted
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority |
Full case caption
Hester v. Illinois
SCDB identifiers: case 1969-085, docket 1969-085-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “No merits, writ improvidently granted”
- Conway v. California Adult Authority
- Odom v. United States
- Bruno v. Pennsylvania
- Perez v. California.
- Triangle Improvement Council v. Ritchie
- Bostic v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Writ improvidently granted
- Monks v. New Jersey
- Moon v. Maryland
- Taggart v. Weinacker's, Inc.
- Jones v. State Board of Education of Tennessee
- Piccirillo v. New York
- Johnson v. United States
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Conway v. California Adult Authority
- City of Chicago v. United States
- National Labor Relations Board v. J. H. Rutter-Rex Manufacturing Co., Inc.
- Maryland and Virginia Eldership of the Churches of God v. Church of God at Sharpsburg, Inc.
- Goldstein v. Cox
- Shapiro v. Doe
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