United States v. Valenzuela-Bernal
458 U.S. 858 · Decided July 2, 1982 · 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
United States v. Valenzuela-Bernal was decided on July 2, 1982 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist 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
- 458 U.S. 858 · 102 S. Ct. 3440 · 73 L. Ed. 2d 1193 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 159
- Docket number
- 81-450
- Decided
- July 2, 1982
- Argued
- April 20, 1982
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States v. Valenzuela-Bernal
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-174, docket 1981-174-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Ohio v. Roberts
- United States v. Gagnon
- Tennessee v. Street
- Parker v. Randolph
- Delaware v. Fensterer
- United States v. Inadi
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Berger v. California
- Roberts v. Russell
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Duckworth v. Serrano
- Harris v. Rivera
- Boag v. Macdougall
- Hutto v. Davis
- Washington v. Chrisman
- Eddings v. Oklahoma
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