Manson v. Brathwaite

432 U.S. 98 · Decided June 16, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Manson v. Brathwaite was decided on June 16, 1977 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Line-up identification” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Manson, Correction Commissioner v. Brathwaite

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-139, docket 1976-139-01.

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Other cases on “Line-up identification”

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• Foster v. California
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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)

• Patterson v. New York
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  431 U.S. 816Decided June 13, 19779–0William J. Brennan Jr.
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  433 U.S. 186Decided June 24, 19777–1Thurgood Marshall
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  431 U.S. 494Decided May 31, 19775–4Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Dixon v. Love
  431 U.S. 105Decided May 16, 19778–0Harry A. Blackmun

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

• United States v. Morrison
  429 U.S. 1Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Rose
  429 U.S. 5Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Dieter
  429 U.S. 6Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Pomponio
  429 U.S. 10Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Sanford
  429 U.S. 14Decided October 12, 19767–2Per curiam
• Moore v. United States
  429 U.S. 20Decided October 18, 19766–3Per curiam

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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