Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188 (1972), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1972.

[6][7] Biggers then sought federal habeas corpus relief, which was granted on the grounds that the Supreme Court's prior tied decision was not an "actual adjudication" under 28 U.S.C.

[3] In a 6–3 decision authored by Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr., the Court concluded that its prior tie on Biggers' case did not preclude relief and that the identification procedure at issue did not violate the Due Process Clause.

[4] Justice Powell began by examining the history of tied Supreme Court cases and determined that such decisions are not precedential.

[5] While he agreed that the previous, tied decision was not an "actual adjudication," he believed that the identification procedure was too suggestive to survive constitutional scrutiny.