Gary Bradford Cone v. Ricky Bell
556 U.S. 449 · Decided April 28, 2009 · 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
Gary Bradford Cone v. Ricky Bell was decided on April 28, 2009 by a vote of 7–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 556 U.S. 449 · 129 S. Ct. 1769 · 173 L. Ed. 2d 701 · 2009 U.S. LEXIS 3298
- Docket number
- 07-1114
- Decided
- April 28, 2009
- Argued
- December 9, 2008
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Gary Bradford Cone v. Ricky Bell, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 2008-048, docket 2008-048-01.
Related decisions
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- District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. William G. Osborne
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Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- James Eric Moore v. United States
- Anthony Hedgpeth v. Michael Robert Pulido
- Deondery Chambers v. United States
- Bennie Dean Herring v. United States
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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