McGautha v. California
| McGautha v. California | |||||||
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| Argued November 9, 1970 Decided May 3, 1971 | |||||||
| Full case name | McGautha v. California | ||||||
| Citations |
91 S. Ct. 1454; 28 L. Ed. 2d 711; 1971 U.S. LEXIS 107 | ||||||
| Court membership | |||||||
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| Case opinions | |||||||
| Majority | Harlan, joined by Burger, Stewart, White, Blackmun | ||||||
| Concurrence | Black | ||||||
| Dissent | Douglas, joined by Brennan, Marshall | ||||||
| Dissent | Brennan, joined by Douglas, Marshall | ||||||
McGautha v. California, 402 U.S. 183 (1971) is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the accused's rights were not infringed by imposition of the death penalty without governing standards.
McGautha was overruled one year later by Furman v. Georgia, which held that sentencing discretion must be narrowed "so as to minimize the risk of wholly arbitrary and capricious action."