Collins v. Youngblood
497 U.S. 37 · Decided June 21, 1990 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Collins v. Youngblood was decided on June 21, 1990 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Ex post facto (state)” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 497 U.S. 37 · 110 S. Ct. 2715 · 111 L. Ed. 2d 30 · 1990 U.S. LEXIS 3294
- Docket number
- 89-742
- Decided
- June 21, 1990
- Argued
- March 19, 1990
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Ex post facto (state)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Article I, Section 10 (state bill of attainder or ex post facto law)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Collins, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division v. Youngblood
SCDB identifiers: case 1989-119, docket 1989-119-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Ex post facto (state)”
- Miller v. FloridaLaw held unconstitutional
- California Department of Corrections v. Jose Ramon Morales
- Kenneth Lynce v. Hamilton MathisLaw held unconstitutional
- Weaver v. GrahamLaw held unconstitutional
- J. Wayne Garner v. Robert L. Jones
- Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. John Doe
Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 10 (state bill of attainder or ex post facto law)
- Scott Leslie Carmell v. TexasLaw held unconstitutional
- Mark Seling v. Andre Brigham Young
- Garner v. Board of Public Works of Los Angeles
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Michael Terrell v. Terry L. Morris
- James v. Illinois
- Dowling v. United States
- Holland v. Illinois
- Baltimore City Department of Social Services v. Bouknight
- United States v. Rene Martin Verdugo-Urquidez
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