Bernard v. Minnesota
Consolidated with:
| Docket No. | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14-1470 | Apr 20, 2016 | Apr 23, 2025 | 6-2 | Alito | OT 2015 |
Holding: The Fourth Amendment permits warrantless breath tests incident to arrests for drunk driving but not warrantless blood tests.
Judgment: Affirmed, 6-2, in an opinion by Justice Alito on April 23, 2025. Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Ginsburg joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: States prevail on breath (but not blood) tests without a warrant (Amy Howe, June 23, 2016)
- A view from the Courtroom: Alito dissents on affirmative action, a deadlock on immigration, and more (Mark Walsh, June 23, 2016)
- Argument analysis: Criminal penalties for refusal to take a Breathalyzer test in jeopardy? (Amy Howe, April 21, 2016)
- Argument preview: Warrantless DUI tests and the Fourth Amendment (Amy Howe, April 15, 2016)
- Court to rule on drunk-driving tests (Lyle Denniston, December 11, 2015)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 06/15/2015 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 16, 2015) |
| 07/16/2015 | Brief of respondent Minnesota in opposition filed. |
| 08/05/2015 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of September 28, 2015. |
| 08/05/2015 | Reply of petitioner William Robert Bernard, Jr. filed. (Distributed) |
| 08/25/2015 | Rescheduled. |
| 11/17/2015 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 4, 2015. |
| 11/30/2015 | Supplemental brief of petitioner William Robert Bernard, Jr. filed. (Distributed) |
| 12/07/2015 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 11, 2015. |
| 12/11/2015 | Petition GRANTED The petitions for writs of certiorari in No. 14-1468 and No. 14-1507 are granted. The cases are consolidated and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. |
| 01/26/2016 | The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' briefs on the merits is extended to and including February 4, 2016. VIDED |
| 01/26/2016 | The time to file respondents' briefs on the merits is extended to and including March 15, 2016. VIDED |
| 02/04/2016 | Brief of petitioner William Robert Bernard, Jr. filed. |
| 02/04/2016 | Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner Danny Birchfield. VIDED. |
| 02/08/2016 | Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Indiana Tech Law School Amicus Project in support of neither party. VIDED. |
| 02/09/2016 | Brief amici curiae of Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, et al. filed. |
| 02/09/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of DUI Defense Lawyers Association filed. VIDED. |
| 02/11/2016 | Brief amici curiae of Downsize DC Foundation, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| 02/11/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of American Civil Liberties Union filed. VIDED. |
| 02/11/2016 | Brief amici curiae of The National College for DUI Defense, and The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. VIDED. |
| 02/29/2016 | Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner GRANTED. VIDED |
| 02/29/2016 | Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Indiana Tech Law School Amicus Project in support of neither party GRANTED. VIDED |
| 03/04/2016 | SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Wednesday, April 20, 2016. VIDED |
| 03/14/2016 | Record requested from the Supreme Court of Minnesota. |
| 03/15/2016 | DISTRIBUTED. |
| 03/15/2016 | Brief of respondent Minnesota filed. (Distributed) |
| 03/16/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of The California District Attorneys Association filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/22/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/22/2016 | Brief amici curiae of New Jersey and Seventeen Other States filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/22/2016 | Brief amici curiae of The Council of State Governments, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/22/2016 | Motion of the Solicitor General for enlargement of time for oral argument, for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed. VIDED. |
| 03/22/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Mothers Against Drunk Driving filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/22/2016 | Brief amici curiae of The National District Attorneys Association, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/23/2016 | Record received from the Supreme Court of Minnesota is electronic. |
| 04/04/2016 | Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae, for enlargement of time for oral argument, and for divided argument GRANTED. and the time is divided as follows: 35 minutes for petitioners, 15 minutes for respondent North Dakota, 10 minutes for respondent Minnesota, and 10 minutes for the Solicitor General. VIDED. |
| 04/13/2016 | Reply of petitioner William Robert Bernard, Jr. filed. (Distributed.) |
| 04/20/2016 | Argued. For petitioners: Charles A. Rothfeld, Washington, D. C. For respondents in Nos. 14-1468 & 14-1507: Thomas R. McCarthy, Arlington, Va. For respondent in 14-1470: Kathryn Keena, Assistant Dakota County Attorney, Hastings, Minn. For United States as amicus curiae in support of respondents: Ian H. Gershengorn, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. VIDED. |
| 06/23/2016 | Judgment in No. 14-1468 REVERSED and case REMANDED. Judgment in No. 14-1470 AFFIRMED. Judgment in No. 14-1507 VACATED AND REMANDED. Alito, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Breyer, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Ginsburg, J., joined. Thomas, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part. |
| 07/25/2016 | JUDGMENT ISSUED |
| 07/25/2016 | MANDATE ISSUED |