Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Lopez-Mendoza
468 U.S. 1032 · Decided July 5, 1984 · 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
Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Lopez-Mendoza was decided on July 5, 1984 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 468 U.S. 1032 · 104 S. Ct. 3479 · 82 L. Ed. 2d 778 · 1984 U.S. LEXIS 156
- Docket number
- 83-491
- Decided
- July 5, 1984
- Argued
- April 18, 1984
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Exclusionary rule (Fourth Amendment)
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Lopez-Mendoza et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1983-173, docket 1983-173-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Segura v. United States
- United States v. Leon
- Massachusetts v. Sheppard
- Hudson v. Palmer
- United States v. Karo
- Welsh v. Wisconsin
Cases on the same legal provision: Exclusionary rule (Fourth Amendment)
- United States v. Havens
- United States v. Crews
- Brown v. Illinois
- Arizona v. Isaac Evans
- Linkletter v. Walker
- Angelet v. Fay
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Autry v. Estelle
- Russello v. United States
- Torres-Valencia v. United States
- Maggio v. Williams
- Wainwright v. Goode
- Sullivan v. Wainwright
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