Blanton et al. v. City of North Las Vegas, Nevada
489 U.S. 538 · No. 87-1437 · 1988 term · Rehnquist Court
Decided Mar 6, 1989 · argued Jan 9, 1989
Criminal procedure · Jury trial
Majority opinion: Thurgood Marshall
The voteMajority
9–09 in the majority, 0 in dissent
No dissent (9–0)
Affirmed. Blanton et al. lost.
What this ruling means
Affirmed: the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Nevada Supreme Court, so it stands (sometimes with changes the Court made to it).
Blanton et al. was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Lost” means the Court did not give 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.
Blanton v. North Las Vegas, 489 U.S. 538 (1989), is a United States Supreme Court case clarifying the limitations of the right to trial by jury.
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 1988 term. Filled: the 9 in the majority. Hollow: the 0 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(9)
Thurgood MarshallWrote the majority opinion
William BrennanJoined the majority
Harry BlackmunJoined the majority
John StevensJoined the majority
Byron WhiteJoined the majority
Anthony KennedyJoined the majority
Sandra O'ConnorJoined the majority
Antonin ScaliaJoined the majority
William RehnquistJoined the majority
Dissent(0)
- None.
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
- Blanton et al.Person accused, indicted, or suspected of crime
- Respondent
- City of North Las Vegas, NevadaCity, town, township, village, or borough government or governmental unit (Nevada)
- 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 (right to trial by jury)
- Kind of law
- Constitutional Amendment
- Decided by
- Judicial review (state 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.
- Mar 6, 1989DecidedDecided · Decided 9–0: affirmed. Blanton et al. lost.
- Jan 9, 1989ArguedArgued · 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 Nevada Supreme Court: remand.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the Nevada trial 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
38 other argued cases since 1946 on jury trial, newest first.
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- Johnson v. Louisiana406 U.S. 356May 22, 1972 · 406 U.S. 356Criminal procedure5–45–4 band
- Baldwin v. New York399 U.S. 66Jun 22, 1970 · 399 U.S. 66Criminal procedure5–36–3 band
- United States v. Reynolds et ux.397 U.S. 14Feb 24, 1970 · 397 U.S. 14Criminal procedure6–27–2 band
- Ross et al., Trustees v. Bernhard et al.396 U.S. 531Feb 2, 1970 · 396 U.S. 531Criminal procedure5–36–3 band
- Dyke et al. v. Taylor Implement Manufacturing Co., Inc.391 U.S. 216May 20, 1968 · 391 U.S. 216Criminal procedure7–27–2 band
- Duncan v. LouisianaLandmark · Other areas391 U.S. 145May 20, 1968 · 391 U.S. 145Criminal procedureLandmark · Other areas7–27–2 band
- Baxstrom v. Herold, State Hospital Director383 U.S. 107Feb 23, 1966 · 383 U.S. 107Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Meeker et ux. v. Ambassador Oil Corp.375 U.S. 160Dec 2, 1963 · 375 U.S. 160Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Simler v. Conner372 U.S. 221Feb 18, 1963 · 372 U.S. 221Criminal procedure9–0Unanimous band
- Dairy Queen, Inc., v. Wood, U.S. District Judge, et al.369 U.S. 469Apr 30, 1962 · 369 U.S. 469Criminal procedure7–0Unanimous band
- Magenau, Administrator, v. Aetna Freight Lines, Inc.360 U.S. 273Jun 15, 1959 · 360 U.S. 273Criminal procedure6–36–3 band
- Beacon Theatres, Inc., v. Westover, U.S. District Judge, et al.359 U.S. 500May 25, 1959 · 359 U.S. 500Criminal procedure5–36–3 band
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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, the argument audio on Oyez and Wikipedia. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.