Stone v. Powell
- Decided
- October 4, 1976
- Docket
- 74-1055
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 4,303 timesOverruled in part (not yet verified)Possible negative treatment: overruled in part (not yet verified) · McCool v. New York State
What later courts said
- holding that application of remedy under the fourth amendment requires weighing the utility of the remedy against its costs — Thornwell v. United States (1979)
- holding that federal courts hearing petitions for habeas corpus should defer to state-court Fourth-Amendment exclusionary rulings if state courts provided full and fair opportunity to raise issue — State v. Barone (1997)
- holding that the Constitution does not require state prisoners be granted federal habeas relief on the ground that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment was admitted at trial — Hernandez v. State (2001)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*468] Mr. Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court.
Respondents in these cases were convicted of criminal offenses in state courts, and their convictions were affirmed on appeal. The prosecution in each case relied upon evidence obtained by searches and seizures alleged by respondents to have been unlawful. Each respondent subsequently sought relief in a Federal District Court by filing a petition for a writ of federal habeas corpus under [*469] 28 U. S. C. § 2254. The question presented is whether a federal court should consider, in ruling on a petition for habeas corpus relief filed by a state prisoner, a claim that evidence obtained by an unconstitutional search or seizure was introduced at his trial, when he has previously been afforded an opportunity for full and fair litigation of his claim in the state courts. The issue is of considerable importance to the administration of criminal justice.
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465 (1976)Read the full opinion
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