United States v. Nixon

E2676

U.S. Supreme Court case landmark court decision

United States v. Nixon was a landmark 1974 U.S. Supreme Court case that limited presidential privilege and compelled President Richard Nixon to release the Watergate tapes, reinforcing the principle that not even the president is above the law.

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Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
President Nixon was required to comply with a subpoena duces tecum and produce tape recordings and documents	1
United States v. Nixon, President of the United States	1

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	U.S. Supreme Court case ⓘ landmark court decision ⓘ
areaOfLaw	constitutional law ⓘ criminal procedure ⓘ presidential powers ⓘ
chiefJustice	Warren E. Burger ⓘ
citation	418 U.S. 683 ⓘ
citedBy	Cheney v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ⓘ Clinton v. Jones ⓘ Trump v. Vance ⓘ
consequence	Precedent limiting the scope of presidential executive privilege ⓘ Reinforced the principle that the President is subject to the law and judicial process ⓘ Release of evidence that contributed to the collapse of Nixon’s political support ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ
decisionDate	1974-07-24 ⓘ
decisionType	unanimous decision ⓘ
docketNumber	No. 73-1766 ⓘ
fullCaseName	United States v. Nixon self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: United States v. Nixon, President of the United States
holding	A generalized interest in confidentiality does not justify withholding evidence in a criminal trial ⓘ Courts have the authority to review claims of executive privilege ⓘ United States v. Nixon self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: President Nixon was required to comply with a subpoena duces tecum and produce tape recordings and documents The President is not entitled to an absolute, unqualified executive privilege against judicial process in criminal proceedings ⓘ
jurisdiction	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
justiceNotParticipating	William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
legalIssue	executive privilege ⓘ judicial review of executive actions ⓘ separation of powers ⓘ
locationOfCourt	Washington, D.C. ⓘ
lowerCourt	United States district courts ⓘ surface form: United States District Court for the District of Columbia
lowerCourtHolding	Denied motion to quash subpoena and ordered production of tapes ⓘ
opinionOfTheCourtBy	Warren E. Burger ⓘ
petitioner	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
principleAffirmed	Courts may require evidence from the executive branch in criminal cases ⓘ No person, not even the President, is above the law ⓘ
proceduralPosture	Appeal from order enforcing subpoena duces tecum ⓘ
relatedEvent	Nixon’s resignation as President of the United States ⓘ Watergate scandal ⓘ surface form: Watergate cover-up investigation
resignationDateOfRespondent	1974-08-09 ⓘ
respondent	Richard Nixon ⓘ surface form: Richard M. Nixon
respondentRole	President of the United States ⓘ
result	President Nixon was compelled to release the Watergate tapes ⓘ
subjectMatter	Watergate scandal ⓘ subpoena for Oval Office tape recordings ⓘ
topic	checks and balances in the U.S. government ⓘ limits on presidential privilege ⓘ
vote	8–0 ⓘ
yearDecided	1974 ⓘ

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

White House tapes → evidenceIn → United States v. Nixon ⓘ

United States v. Nixon → fullCaseName → United States v. Nixon self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: United States v. Nixon, President of the United States

United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court → hasNotableCase → United States v. Nixon ⓘ

United States v. Nixon → holding → United States v. Nixon self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: President Nixon was required to comply with a subpoena duces tecum and produce tape recordings and documents

Supreme Court of the United States → notableCase → United States v. Nixon ⓘ

Watergate scandal → significantEvent → United States v. Nixon ⓘ