Adams v. Texas
| Adams v. Texas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 24, 1980 Decided June 25, 1980 | |
| Full case name | Randall Dale Adams v. State of Texas |
| Citations | 448 U.S. 38 (more) 100 S. Ct. 2521; 65 L. Ed. 2d 581 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas |
| Subsequent | 577 S.W.2d 717, reversed. |
| Holding | |
| A Texas requirement that jurors swear an oath that the mandatory imposition of a death sentence would not interfere with their consideration of factual matters such as guilt or innocence during a trial is unconstitutional. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | White, joined by Brennan, Stewart, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens |
| Concurrence | Burger (in the judgment) |
| Concurrence | Brennan |
| Concurrence | Marshall |
| Dissent | Rehnquist |
Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38 (1980), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held on an 8–1 vote that, consistent with its prior opinion in Witherspoon v. Illinois, a Texas requirement that jurors swear an oath that the mandatory imposition of a death sentence would not interfere with their consideration of factual matters such as guilt or innocence during a trial was unconstitutional.
The surrounding factual issues (involving defendant Randall Dale Adams) were the subject of a partially autobiographical book of the same name, and were featured in the 1988 movie The Thin Blue Line.
Further reading
- Gillers, Stephen (1985). "Proving the Prejudice of Death-Qualified Juries after Adams v. Texas". University of Pittsburgh Law Review. 47 (1): 219–255.
External links
- Text of Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38 (1980) is available from: Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)
- Adams v. The Death Penalty
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