North v. Russell

North v. Russell
Argued October 9, 1975
Decided June 28, 1976
Full case nameLonnie North, Appellant, v. C.B. Russell et al.
Citations427 U.S. 328 (more)
96 S. Ct. 2707; 49 L. Ed. 534
Case history
PriorAppeal from Court of Appeals of Kentucky
Holding
Trial before a non-judicial officer does not violate the due process or equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment provided there is a right of appeal to and a trial de novo before a lawyer-trained judge.
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
MajorityBurger, joined by White, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist
ConcurrenceBrennan
DissentStewart, joined by Marshall
Stevens took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

North v. Russell, 427 U.S. 328 (1976), is a United States Supreme Court case which held that a non-lawyer jurist can constitutionally sit in a jail-carrying criminal case provided that the defendant has an opportunity through an appeal to obtain a second trial before a judge who is a lawyer.