Donald Curtis Samson v. California
547 U.S. 843 · Decided June 19, 2006 · 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
Donald Curtis Samson v. California was decided on June 19, 2006 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 547 U.S. 843 · 126 S. Ct. 2193 · 165 L. Ed. 2d 250 · 2006 U.S. LEXIS 4885
- Docket number
- 04-9728
- Decided
- June 19, 2006
- Argued
- February 22, 2006
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Donald Curtis Samson v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 2005-071, docket 2005-071-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- Booker T. Hudson, Jr. v. Michigan
- Brigham City v. Charles W. Stuart
- Georgia v. Scott Fitz Randolph
- United States v. Jeffrey Grubbs
- Los Angeles County v. Max Rettele
- Darin L. Muehler v. Iris Mena
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Timothy Scott v. Victor Harris
- Bruce Edward Brendlin v. California
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
- Marcus Thornton v. United States
- United States v. Manuel Flores-Montano
- Jeff Groh v. Joseph R. Ramirez
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Paul Allen Dye v. Gerald Hofbauer
- Dora B. Schriro v. Robert Douglas Smith
- Ivan Eberhart v. United States
- Margaret Bradshaw v. Kenneth T. Richey
- Mike Evans v. Reginald Chavis
- Jill L. Brown v. Ronald L. Sanders
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