Lefkowitz v. Newsome

Lefkowitz v. Newsome
Argued December 11, 1974
Decided February 19, 1975
Full case nameLouis J. Lefkowitz, Attorney General of New York v. Leon Newsome
Citations420 U.S. 283 (more)
95 S. Ct. 886; 43 L. Ed. 2d 418; 43 L. Ed. 2d 196
Case history
PriorUnited States ex rel. Newsome v. Malcolm, 492 F.2d 1166 (2d Cir. 1974); cert. granted, 417 U.S. 967 (1974).
Holding
When state law permits a defendant to plead guilty without forfeiting his right to judicial review of specified constitutional issues, the defendant is not foreclosed from pursuing those constitutional claims in a federal habeas corpus proceeding. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is affirmed.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William O. Douglas · William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist
Case opinions
MajorityStewart, joined by Douglas, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun
DissentWhite, joined by Burger, Rehnquist
DissentPowell, joined by Burger, Rehnquist
Laws applied
Criminal Procedure, Habeas Corpus

Lefkowitz v. Newsome, 420 U.S. 283 (1975), is a U.S. Supreme Court case which held that when state law permits a defendant to plead guilty without giving up his right to judicial review of specified constitutional issues, such as the lawfulness of a search or the voluntariness of a confession, the defendant is not prevented from pursuing those constitutional claims in a federal habeas corpus proceeding.