Specht v. Patterson
386 U.S. 605 · Decided April 11, 1967 · 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
Specht v. Patterson was decided on April 11, 1967 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 386 U.S. 605 · 87 S. Ct. 1209 · 18 L. Ed. 2d 326 · 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1836
- Docket number
- 831
- Decided
- April 11, 1967
- Argued
- March 21, 1967
- Court era
- Warren 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
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Did not participate: Potter Stewart.
Full case caption
Specht v. Patterson, Warden, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1966-079, docket 1966-079-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Washington v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- Smith v. Illinois
- Brookhart v. Janis
- Barber v. Page
- Bruton v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Jones v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Black v. United States
- Cichos v. Indiana
- O'Connor v. Ohio
- Lewis v. United States
- United States v. Fabrizio
- Hoffa 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