Case Citator › Stirone v. United States

Stirone v. United States

Is it still good law? What later courts have actually done to this case.

Limited by some courts
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Citation
361 U.S. 212
Decided
Confirmed treatments
2
Flagged citations read
149 of 149
Citing cases (total)
2,073
Treatment dates
2006–2008
Limited by some courts
At least one reviewed court has limited this case’s holding to narrower facts or a narrower rule. No reviewed court has overruled it. Stirone v. United States has been limited in an unpreserved constructive amendment case, and its automatic reversal rule has been questioned. A Massachusetts district court denied relief under plain error review despite finding a constructive amendment; the Eighth Circuit later questioned whether such an amendment always requires reversal but left that issue unresolved.
More on how this was screened

Both treatments are listed below. All 149 flagged citations have been read. People v. Carter applied Colorado's own rules for state prosecutions, a choice listed separately.

Every treatment on this page is written from the citing opinion itself, with a verbatim quote, never copied from a commercial citator. A citation flagged by our screen but not shown here was read and found not to weaken this case.

2,073 later cases cite Stirone v. United States; 149 of those citations sat close to treatment language and were flagged for reading, and all of them have been read. Citations that did not sit near treatment language were not flagged and were not read one by one, so a court that weakened this case without using any of that language would not appear here.

Relying on Stirone v. United States?

This page shows what later courts did to it. Ask about your specific facts and see whether it still carries your argument, with citations you can check.

Treatments

Limited

  • For a constructive amendment first challenged after trial, the court applied plain error review and denied relief despite the defendant's reliance on Stirone for automatic reversal.

    United States v. Brandao · U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts · filed

    Defendant argues that under the third prong, prejudice is not required in a case of constructive amendment because in such cases Stirone mandates per se reversal. See Stirone, 361 U.S. at 219, 80 S.Ct. 270. ... Although the First Circuit has consistently recited a per se rule for constructive amendments, it has not ruled in the context of an untimely objection to a jury instruction. The case-law nationwide is in flux, and the Supreme Court jurisprudence suggests a per se rule may no longer be applicable in this area. As such, I will analyze the issue under both the third and fourth prongs of the plain error standard. ... Even if prejudice were not required, the fourth prong of plain error review would preclude reversal of Defendant’s convictions.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Questioned

  • The court questioned whether a constructive amendment always requires reversal under the rule associated with Stirone, but left the question unresolved.

    United States v. Gill · Eighth Circuit · filed

    We question whether a constructive amendment constitutes reversible error per se. ... Moreover, in United States v. Allen, 406 F.3d 940, 943–44 (8th Cir. 2005) (en banc), we discussed the limitations of Stirone, the Supreme Court case on which the purported per se prejudice rule relies. ... We need not resolve our questions about the purported per se prejudice rule, however, because we conclude the instructions in this case did not constructively amend the indictment.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Does this case still carry your argument?

Describe your facts. Ezel reads Stirone v. United States and the cases that treated it, then tells you whether it still holds for your situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

  • Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
  • Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
  • Chat, drafting and research in one workspace