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Jill L. Brown v. William Charles Payton

544 U.S. 133 · Decided March 22, 2005 · 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

Jill L. Brown v. William Charles Payton was decided on March 22, 2005 by a vote of 5–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
544 U.S. 133 · 125 S. Ct. 1432 · 161 L. Ed. 2d 334 · 2005 U.S. LEXIS 2753
Docket number
03-1039
Decided
March 22, 2005
Argued
November 10, 2004
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–3
Majority opinion
Anthony M. Kennedy
Opinion assigned by
Sandra Day O'Connor
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
Type of law
Federal statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice John Paul StevensDissent
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorMajority
Justice Antonin ScaliaConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Anthony M. KennedyMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice David H. SouterDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Clarence ThomasConcurrence
Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgDissent
Justice Stephen G. BreyerConcurrenceWrote an opinion

Did not participate: William H. Rehnquist.

Full case caption

Jill L. Brown, Warden v. William Charles Payton

SCDB identifiers: case 2004-032, docket 2004-032-01.

Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”

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Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

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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