Harris v. New York

Petitioner

Viven Harris

Respondent

State of New York

Petitioner's Claim

That Harris's constitutional rights had been violated, and thus his narcotics conviction should be overturned.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Joel Martin Aurnou

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

James J. Duggan

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), John Marshall Harlan II, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

24 February 1971

Decision

That statements considered inadmissible in convicting a defendant could be used to attack his or her credibility on the witness stand.

Significance

Narrowed suspects' rights in an attempt by a new conservative majority on the High Court to redress past liberal decisions.

Related Cases

• Walder v. United States, 347 U.S. 62 (1954).
• Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U.S. 199 (1960).
• Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293 (1963).
• Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
• Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477 (1972).
• Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157 (1986).

Further Readings

• Dershowitz, Alan M. and John Hart Ely. "Harris v. New York: Some Anxious Observations on the Candor and Logic of the Emerging Nixon Majority." Yale Law Journal, Vol. 80, May 1971, pp. 1198-1227.
• Graham, Fred P. "Justices Narrow a Crime Decision by Warren Court." New York Times, February 25, 1971, p. 1.
• Harvard Law Review, Vol. 85, November 1971, pp. 44-64.