Kevin Wiggins v. Sewall Smith
539 U.S. 510 · Decided June 26, 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
Kevin Wiggins v. Sewall Smith was decided on June 26, 2003 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 539 U.S. 510 · 123 S. Ct. 2527 · 156 L. Ed. 2d 471 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 5014
- Docket number
- 02-311
- Decided
- June 26, 2003
- Argued
- March 24, 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Kevin Wiggins v. Sewall Smith, Warden, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-082, docket 2002-082-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- John J. Fellers v. United States
- Iowa v. Felipe Edgardo Tovar
- Alabama v. Lereed Shelton
- Walter Mickens, Jr. v. John Taylor
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Rothgery v. Gillespie County
- Robert Wong v. Fernando Belmontes, Jr.
- Blaine Lafler v. Anthony Cooper
- Missouri v. Galin E. Frye
- Deborah K. Johnson v. Tara Sheneva Williams
- Roselva Chaidez v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Richard E. Early v. William Packer
- Jeanne Woodford v. John Louis Visciotti
- Abu-Ali Abdur'rahman v. Ricky Bell
- David Allen Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania
- United States v. Francisco Jimenez Recio and Adrian Lopez-Meza
- Thomas Joe Miller-El v. Janie Cockrell
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