Jill L. Brown v. William Charles Payton
544 U.S. 133 · Decided March 22, 2005 · Supreme Court of the United States
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
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- 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
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- 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
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Concurrence | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | Wrote 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.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”
- Donald P. Roper v. Christopher SimmonsAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Dora B. Schriro v. Robert Douglas Smith
- Jill L. Brown v. Ronald L. Sanders
- Oregon v. Randy Lee Guzek
- Kansas v. Michael Lee Marsh
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Charles Russell Rhines v. Douglas Weber
- Robert Johnson, Jr. v. United States
- John A. Pace v. David Diguglielmo
- Ricky Bell v. Gary Bradford Cone
- Thomas Joe Miller-El v. Doug Dretke
- Michael Donald Dodd v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Gerald Devenpeck v. Jerome Anthony Alford
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
- David Whitfield v. United States
- United States v. Freddie J. BookerLaw held unconstitutional
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
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