Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38 (1980), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held on an 8–1 vote that, consistent with its prior opinion in Witherspoon v. Illinois, a Texas requirement that jurors swear an oath that the mandatory imposition of a death sentence would not interfere with their consideration of factual matters such as guilt or innocence during a trial was unconstitutional.

Adams v. Texas
Argued March 24, 1980
Decided June 25, 1980
Full case nameRandall Dale Adams v. State of Texas
Citations448 U.S. 38 (more)
100 S. Ct. 2521; 65 L. Ed. 2d 581
Case history
PriorCertiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Subsequent577 S.W.2d 717, reversed.
Holding
A Texas requirement that jurors swear an oath that the mandatory imposition of a death sentence would not interfere with their consideration of factual matters such as guilt or innocence during a trial is unconstitutional.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
MajorityWhite, joined by Brennan, Stewart, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens
ConcurrenceBurger (in the judgment)
ConcurrenceBrennan
ConcurrenceMarshall
DissentRehnquist

The surrounding factual issues (involving defendant Randall Dale Adams) were the subject of a partially autobiographical book of the same name, and were featured in the 1988 movie The Thin Blue Line.

Further reading

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  • Gillers, Stephen (1985). "Proving the Prejudice of Death-Qualified Juries after Adams v. Texas". University of Pittsburgh Law Review. 47 (1): 219–255.
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