Foster v. Chatman
578 U.S. 488 · Decided May 23, 2016 · 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
Foster v. Chatman was decided on May 23, 2016 by a vote of 7–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, jurors and death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 578 U.S. 488 · 136 S. Ct. 1737 · 195 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 2016 U.S. LEXIS 3486
- Docket number
- 14-8349
- Decided
- May 23, 2016
- Argued
- November 2, 2015
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority opinion
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Foster v. Chatman
SCDB identifiers: case 2015-011, docket 2015-011-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Extra-legal jury influences, jurors and death penalty”
- Flowers v. Mississippi
- David Bobby v. Harry Mitts
- United States v. Tsarnaev
- Jeffrey Uttecht v. Cal Coburn Brown
- Derrick Morgan v. Illinois
- Ross v. Oklahoma
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)
- Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
- Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission
- Evenwel v. Abbott
- Bethune-Hill v. Va Bd. of Elections
- Cooper v. HarrisLaw held unconstitutional
- Pavan v. SmithLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Maryland v. James Kulbicki
- Chadrin Lee Mullenix v. Beatrice Luna
- Randy White v. Roger L. Wheeler
- Hurst v. FloridaAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Kansas v. Carr
- Montgomery v. Louisiana
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