Jeffrey A. Beard v. George E. Banks
542 U.S. 406 · Decided June 24, 2004 · 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
Jeffrey A. Beard v. George E. Banks was decided on June 24, 2004 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Retroactivity of new rights” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 542 U.S. 406 · 124 S. Ct. 2504 · 159 L. Ed. 2d 494 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 4572
- Docket number
- 02-1603
- Decided
- June 24, 2004
- Argued
- February 24, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Retroactivity of new rights
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent |
Full case caption
Jeffrey A. Beard, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. v. George E. Banks
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-083, docket 2003-083-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Retroactivity of new rights”
- Dora B. Schriro v. Warren Wesley Summerlin
- Republic of Austria v. Altmann
- Glen Whorton v. Marvin Howard Bockting
- Stephen Danforth v. Minnesota
- Joseph Roger O'Dell v. J. D. Netherland
- Edward Dorsey, Sr. v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Betty Mitchell v. Gregory Esparza
- United States v. Lashawn Lowell Banks
- Maryland v. Joseph Jermaine Pringle
- Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States
- Illinois v. Robert S. Lidster
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