Marcus Thornton v. United States
541 U.S. 615 · Decided May 24, 2004 · 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
Marcus Thornton v. United States was decided on May 24, 2004 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure, vehicles” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 541 U.S. 615 · 124 S. Ct. 2127 · 158 L. Ed. 2d 905 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 3681
- Docket number
- 03-5165
- Decided
- May 24, 2004
- Argued
- March 31, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure, vehicles
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Marcus Thornton v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-062, docket 2003-062-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure, vehicles”
- United States v. Manuel Flores-Montano
- Illinois v. Robert S. Lidster
- Maryland v. Joseph Jermaine Pringle
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
- Timothy Scott v. Victor Harris
- Bruce Edward Brendlin v. California
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Larry D. Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada
- Jeff Groh v. Joseph R. Ramirez
- United States v. Lashawn Lowell Banks
- Gerald Devenpeck v. Jerome Anthony Alford
- Darin L. Muehler v. Iris Mena
- Robert Kaupp v. Texas
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Betty Mitchell v. Gregory Esparza
- United States v. Lashawn Lowell Banks
- Maryland v. Joseph Jermaine Pringle
- Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States
- Illinois v. Robert S. Lidster
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