United States v. Macdonald
435 U.S. 850 · No. 75-1892 · 1977 term · Burger Court
Decided May 1, 1978 · argued Jan 9, 1978
Criminal procedure · Speedy trial
Majority opinion: Harry Blackmun
The voteMajority
8–08 in the majority, 0 in dissent
No dissent (9–0)
Reversed and remanded. United States won.
What this ruling means
Reversed and remanded: the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit and sent the case back to that court for further proceedings that follow the Supreme Court’s ruling.
United States was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Won” means the Court gave that side the result it asked for.
From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.
Summary
The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.
Wikipedia has no article on this case, so there is no summary.
Data notes
The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.
How the justices voted
Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 1977 term. Filled: the 8 in the majority. Hollow: the 0 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(8)
Harry BlackmunWrote the majority opinion
Thurgood MarshallJoined the majority
John StevensJoined the majority
Byron WhiteJoined the majority
Potter StewartJoined the majority
Lewis PowellJoined the majority
Warren BurgerJoined the majority
William RehnquistJoined the majority
Dissent(0)
- None.
Did not take part: William Brennan.
Data notes
Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.
Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.
The parties
Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.
- Petitioner
- United StatesUnited States
- Respondent
- MacdonaldPerson accused, indicted, or suspected of crime
- Reached the Court by
- Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
Data notes
The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.
The law at issue
The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.
- Provision
- Sixth Amendment (speedy trial)
- Kind of law
- Constitutional Amendment
- Decided by
- Judicial review (national level)
Data notes
The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.
Timeline
What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.
- May 1, 1978DecidedDecided · Decided 8–0: reversed and remanded. United States won.
- Jan 9, 1978ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
- Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
- Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit: reversed and remanded, with a dissent.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the North Carolina Eastern U.S. District Court.
Data notes
From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.
Other decisions on the same issue
21 other argued cases since 1946 on speedy trial, newest first.
- Betterman v. Montana578 U.S. 437May 19, 2016 · 578 U.S. 437Criminal procedure8–0Unanimous band
- United States, Petitioner v. Jason Louis Tinklenberg563 U.S. 647May 26, 2011 · 563 U.S. 647Criminal procedure8–0Unanimous band
- Taylor James Bloate v. United States559 U.S. 196Mar 8, 2010 · 559 U.S. 196Criminal procedure7–27–2 band
- Vermont v. Michael Brillon556 U.S. 81Mar 9, 2009 · 556 U.S. 81Criminal procedure7–27–2 band
- Jacob Zedner v. United States547 U.S. 489Jun 5, 2006 · 547 U.S. 489Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Marc Gilbert Doggett v. United States505 U.S. 647Jun 24, 1992 · 505 U.S. 647Criminal procedure5–45–4 band
- United States v. Taylor487 U.S. 326Jun 24, 1988 · 487 U.S. 326Criminal procedure6–36–3 band
- Henderson et al. v. United States476 U.S. 321May 19, 1986 · 476 U.S. 321Criminal procedure5–45–4 band
- United States v. Loud Hawk et al.474 U.S. 302Jan 21, 1986 · 474 U.S. 302Criminal procedure5–45–4 band
- United States v. Von Neumann474 U.S. 242Jan 14, 1986 · 474 U.S. 242Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- United States v. Rojas-Contreras474 U.S. 231Dec 16, 1985 · 474 U.S. 231Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- United States v. Eight Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($ 8,850) in United States Currency461 U.S. 555May 23, 1983 · 461 U.S. 555Criminal procedure8–18–1 band
- United States v. Macdonald456 U.S. 1Mar 31, 1982 · 456 U.S. 1Criminal procedure6–36–3 band
- United States v. Lovasco431 U.S. 783Jun 9, 1977 · 431 U.S. 783Criminal procedure8–18–1 band
- Strunk, aka Wagner v. United States412 U.S. 434Jun 11, 1973 · 412 U.S. 434Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Barker v. Wingo, WardenLandmark · Other areas407 U.S. 514Jun 22, 1972 · 407 U.S. 514Criminal procedureLandmark · Other areas9–0Unanimous band
- United States v. Marion et al.404 U.S. 307Dec 20, 1971 · 404 U.S. 307Criminal procedure7–0Unanimous band
- Dickey v. Florida398 U.S. 30May 25, 1970 · 398 U.S. 30Criminal procedure8–0Unanimous band
- Smith v. Hooey, Judge393 U.S. 374Jan 20, 1969 · 393 U.S. 374Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Klopfer v. North Carolina386 U.S. 213Mar 13, 1967 · 386 U.S. 213Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- United States v. Ewell et al.383 U.S. 116Feb 23, 1966 · 383 U.S. 116Criminal procedure7–27–2 band
Data notes
Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.
Official record
Read the full opinion on Justia and the argument audio on Oyez. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.