Burch v. Louisiana
| Burch v. Louisiana | |
|---|---|
| Argued February 22, 1979 Decided April 17, 1979 | |
| Full case name | Burch v. Louisiana |
| Citations | 441 U.S. 130 (more) 99 S. Ct. 1623; 60 L. Ed. 2d 96; 1979 U.S. LEXIS 87 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | State v. Wrestle, Inc., 360 So. 2d 831 (La. 1978); cert. granted, 439 U.S. 925 (1978). |
| Holding | |
| A conviction by a nonunanimous six-person jury in a state criminal trial for a nonpetty offense violates the right of an accused to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Rehnquist, joined by Burger, White, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens |
| Concurrence | Stevens |
| Concur/dissent | Brennan, joined by Stewart, Marshall |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amends. VI XIV | |
Burch v. Louisiana, 441 U.S. 130 (1979), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court that invalidated a Louisiana statute allowing a conviction upon a nonunanimous verdict from a jury of six for a petty offense. The statute allowed for conviction if only five jurors agreed, and this was held to be a violation of the Sixth Amendment.