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Texas v. Brown

460 U.S. 730 · Decided April 19, 1983 · 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

Texas v. Brown was decided on April 19, 1983 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure, vehicles” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
460 U.S. 730 · 103 S. Ct. 1535 · 75 L. Ed. 2d 502 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 143
Docket number
81-419
Decided
April 19, 1983
Argued
January 12, 1983
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
9–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
William H. Rehnquist
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Fourth Amendment
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Special concurrence
Justice Byron R. WhiteConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Thurgood MarshallSpecial concurrence
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunSpecial concurrence
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Special concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice William H. RehnquistJudgment of the CourtWrote an opinion
Justice John Paul StevensSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorMajority

Full case caption

Texas v. Brown

SCDB identifiers: case 1982-057, docket 1982-057-01.

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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