Kitrich Powell v. Nevada
511 U.S. 79 · Decided March 30, 1994 · 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
Kitrich Powell v. Nevada was decided on March 30, 1994 by a vote of 7–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 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
- 511 U.S. 79 · 114 S. Ct. 1280 · 128 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1994 U.S. LEXIS 2655
- Docket number
- 92-8841
- Decided
- March 30, 1994
- Argued
- February 22, 1994
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- Harry A. Blackmun
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Retroactivity of new rights
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Kitrich Powell v. Nevada
SCDB identifiers: case 1993-032, docket 1993-032-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Retroactivity of new rights”
- Joseph Roger O'Dell v. J. D. Netherland
- Yates v. Aiken
- Truesdale v. Aiken
- Griffith v. Kentucky
- Allen v. Hardy
- Shea v. Louisiana
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Jimmie Burden, Jr. v. Walter Zant
- Waldemar Ratzlaf and Loretta Ratzlaf v. United States
- Thomas Schiro v. Robert Farley
- Paul Caspari v. Christopher Bohlen
- Clarence Victor v. Nebraska
- United States v. Ralph Stuart Granderson, Jr.
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