Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
550 U.S. 297 · Decided April 25, 2007 · 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
Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas was decided on April 25, 2007 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed 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
- 550 U.S. 297 · 127 S. Ct. 1686 · 167 L. Ed. 2d 632 · 2007 U.S. LEXIS 4537
- Docket number
- 05-11304
- Decided
- April 25, 2007
- Argued
- January 17, 2007
- Court era
- Roberts 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
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
SCDB identifiers: case 2006-035, docket 2006-035-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”
- Scott Louis Panetti v. Nathaniel Quarterman
- Robert L. Ayers, Jr. v. Fernando Belmontes
- Kansas v. Michael Lee Marsh
- Ralph Baze and Thomas C. Bowling v. John D. Rees
- Oregon v. Randy Lee Guzek
- Kennedy v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Robert L. Ayers, Jr. v. Fernando Belmontes
- Thomas L. Carey v. Mathew Musladin
- Lonnie Lee Burton v. Belinda Stewart
- United States v. Juan Resendiz-Ponce
- Jones v. Bock
- John Cunningham v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
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