Williams v. United States
458 U.S. 279 · Decided June 29, 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
Williams v. United States was decided on June 29, 1982 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, financial crimes” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 458 U.S. 279 · 102 S. Ct. 3088 · 73 L. Ed. 2d 767 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 44
- Docket number
- 80-2116
- Decided
- June 29, 1982
- Argued
- April 20, 1982
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 1014
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Williams v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-156, docket 1981-156-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, financial crimes”
- McElroy v. United States
- Bell v. United States
- Chiarella v. United States
- H. J. Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co.
- United States v. Cook
- United States v. Braverman
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C. § 1014
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