United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739 (1987)

Supreme Court decision of May 26, 1987 upholding pretrial detention on the ground of dangerousness under the Bail Reform Act of 1984, in the case of Anthony Salerno and Vincent Cafaro.

Date: 1987-05-26
Kind: court-opinion
Source: CourtListener (Free Law Project), text of the opinion
Retrieved: 2026-10-12
Docket: 86-87
Rights: Opinion of a United States court. Works of the federal judiciary are in the public domain in the United States. The text was read on CourtListener.

Supreme Court of the United States, No. 86-87. Argued January 21, 1987, decided May 26, 1987. Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by Justices White, Blackmun, Powell, O’Connor and Scalia. Justice Marshall, joined by Justice Brennan, dissented, and Justice Stevens dissented separately.

The opinion opens with the arrest: “Respondents Anthony Salerno and Vincent Cafaro were arrested on March 21, 1986, after being charged in a 29-count indictment.” The Court upheld the Bail Reform Act of 1984’s provision for detaining a defendant before trial on the ground of dangerousness, reversing the Second Circuit (794 F.2d 64).

The case is about the statute. Salerno’s role in the Genovese family is not decided here; for the courts’ statements on that, see the district court’s detention ruling and the Commission case appeal.

itemUnited States v. Salerno, 794 F.2d 64 (2d Cir. 1986)Second Circuit opinion of July 3, 1986 holding the preventive-detention provision of the Bail Reform Act unconstitutional as applied to Anthony Salerno and Vincent Cafaro. The Supreme Court reversed it the next year.itemUnited States v. Salerno, 631 F. Supp. 1364 (S.D.N.Y. 1986)District Judge Walker's April 2, 1986 order detaining Anthony Salerno and Vincent Cafaro before trial on a Genovese Family racketeering indictment. It names the two Manhattan social clubs where the government's recordings were made, the Palma Boys Social Club and the club at 2244 First Avenue.