Washington v. Texas
388 U.S. 14 · Decided June 12, 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
Washington v. Texas was decided on June 12, 1967 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 388 U.S. 14 · 87 S. Ct. 1920 · 18 L. Ed. 2d 1019 · 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1083
- Docket number
- 649
- Decided
- June 12, 1967
- Argued
- March 15, 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- 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
- Held unconstitutional
- A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
- 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 | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Washington v. Texas
SCDB identifiers: case 1966-120, docket 1966-120-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Specht v. Patterson
- Smith v. Illinois
- Barber v. Page
- Bruton v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Jones v. United States
- Pickens v. Oliver
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Roberts v. Russell
- Berger v. California
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
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