dissenting.
The Court today continues its unsettling practice of summarily reversing decisions rendered in favor of criminal defendants, based not on broad principle but on idiosyncratic *458facts and without full briefing or oral argument. See, e. g., United States v. Gagnon, 470 U. S. 522, 530-531 (1985) (Brennan, J., dissenting); Florida v. Meyers, 466 U. S. 380, 383 (1984) (Stevens, J., dissenting); Wyrick v. Fields, 459 U. S. 42, 50 (1982) (Marshall, J., dissenting). Because I find this one-sided practice of summary error correction* inappropriate, I would vote merely to deny this petition for certiorari. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
There have been summary reversals in 27 noncapital cases involving criminal convictions over the last four Terms. Twenty-four of these favored the warden or the prosecutor. See ante, at 456-457; United States v. Gagnon, 470 U. S. 522 (1985) (per curiam); United States v. Woodward 469 U. S. 105 (1985) (per curiam); Florida v. Rodriguez, 469 U. S. 1 (1984) (per curiam); Massachusetts v. Upton, 466 U. S. 727 (1984) (per curiam); Florida v. Meyers, 466 U. S. 380, 386, and n. 3 (1984) (per curiam) (Stevens, J., dissenting) (collecting cases).