Ben Chavez v. Oliverio Martinez
538 U.S. 760 · Decided May 27, 2003 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Ben Chavez v. Oliverio Martinez was decided on May 27, 2003 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Self-incrimination (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 538 U.S. 760 · 123 S. Ct. 1994 · 155 L. Ed. 2d 984 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 4274
- Docket number
- 01-1444
- Decided
- May 27, 2003
- Argued
- December 4, 2002
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Self-incrimination (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Special concurrence |
Full case caption
Ben Chavez v. Oliverio Martinez
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-058, docket 2002-058-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Self-incrimination (general)”
- David R. McKune v. Robert G. Lile
- Ohio v. Matthew Reiner
- United States v. Webster L. Hubbell
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Amanda Mitchell v. United States
- Genovevo Salinas v. Texas
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- John Paul Penry v. Gary L. Johnson
- United States v. Aloyzas Balsys
- J. D. B. v. North Carolina
- Robert S. Minnick v. Mississippi
- Colorado v. Spring
- Moran v. Burbine
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Richard E. Early v. William Packer
- Jeanne Woodford v. John Louis Visciotti
- Abu-Ali Abdur'rahman v. Ricky Bell
- David Allen Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania
- United States v. Francisco Jimenez Recio and Adrian Lopez-Meza
- Thomas Joe Miller-El v. Janie Cockrell
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error