Chavez-Meza v. United States
138 S. Ct. 1959 · Decided June 18, 2018 · 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
Chavez-Meza v. United States was decided on June 18, 2018 by a vote of 5–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2017
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 17-5639
Case details
- Citations
- 138 S. Ct. 1959 · 201 L. Ed. 2d 359 · 2018 U.S. LEXIS 3689
- Docket number
- 17-5639
- Decided
- June 18, 2018
- Argued
- April 23, 2018
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 USC 3553 Sentencing Guidelines
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Dissent | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Dissent |
Did not participate: Neil M. Gorsuch.
Full case caption
Chavez-Meza v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2017-071, docket 2017-071-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- Rosales-Mireles v. United States
- Hughes v. United States
- Koons v. United States
- Mont v. United States
- Dean v. United States
- Beckles v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Dunn v. Madison
- Kernan v. Cuero
- Tharpe v. Sellers
- Class v. United States
- Marinello v. United States
- Wilson v. Sellers
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