Joseph C. Roell v. Jon Michael Withrow
538 U.S. 580 · Decided April 29, 2003 · 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
Joseph C. Roell v. Jon Michael Withrow was decided on April 29, 2003 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice David H. Souter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Jurisdiction of federal district or territorial courts” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 538 U.S. 580 · 123 S. Ct. 1696 · 155 L. Ed. 2d 775 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 3427
- Docket number
- 02-69
- Decided
- April 29, 2003
- Argued
- February 26, 2003
- 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
- David H. Souter
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 636
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Joseph C. Roell, Petra Garibay, and James Reagan v. Jon Michael Withrow
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-048, docket 2002-048-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. § 636
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Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Ford Motor Company and Citibank (South Dakota), N. A. v. John B. McCauley
- Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Hurley Henson
- United States v. Thomas Lamar Bean
- Susan Jinks v. Richland County
- Dole Food Company v. Gerardo Dennis Patrickson
- Phillip T. Breuer v. Jim's Concrete of Brevard, Inc.
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