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Spence v. North Carolina

392 U.S. 649 · Decided June 17, 1968 · 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

Spence v. North Carolina was decided on June 17, 1968 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, jurors and death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
392 U.S. 649 · 88 S. Ct. 2290 · 20 L. Ed. 2d 1350 · 1968 U.S. LEXIS 1159
Docket number
759 M
Decided
June 17, 1968
Court era
Warren Court
Decision type
Per curiam (no oral argument)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
6–3
Opinion assigned by
Earl Warren
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackDissentCo-authored an opinion
Justice William O. DouglasMajority
Chief Justice Earl WarrenMajority
Justice John M. Harlan IIDissentCo-authored an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Majority
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Abe FortasMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajority

Full case caption

Spence et al. v. North Carolina

SCDB identifiers: case 1967-195, docket 1967-195-01.

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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