Boumediene v. Bush
553 U.S. 723 · Decided June 12, 2008 · 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
Boumediene v. Bush was decided on June 12, 2008 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 553 U.S. 723 · 128 S. Ct. 2229 · 171 L. Ed. 2d 41 · 2008 U.S. LEXIS 4887
- Docket number
- 06-1195
- Decided
- June 12, 2008
- Argued
- December 5, 2007
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 2 (suspension of the writ of habeas corpus)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent |
Full case caption
Boumediene v. Bush
SCDB identifiers: case 2007-053, docket 2007-053-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Munaf v. Geren
- John Francis Fry v. Cheryl K. Pliler
- Don Roper v. William Weaver
- Dora B. Schriro v. Jeffrey Timothy Landrigan
- Jalil Abdul-Kabir v. Nathaniel QuartermanLaw held unconstitutional
- Brent Ray Brewer v. Nathaniel QuartermanLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 2 (suspension of the writ of habeas corpus)
- Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam
- Edwards v. VannoyAltered precedent
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- James D. Logan v. United States
- Brian Michael Gall v. United States
- Michael A. Watson v. United States
- Derrick Kimbrough v. United States
- Randall Wright v. Joseph L. Van Patten
- Stephen Danforth v. Minnesota
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