McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin
486 U.S. 429 · Decided June 6, 1988 · 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
McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin was decided on June 6, 1988 by a vote of 5–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, inadequate representation by counsel” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 486 U.S. 429 · 108 S. Ct. 1895 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 440 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2487
- Docket number
- 87-5002
- Decided
- June 6, 1988
- Argued
- January 20, 1988
- 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
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, inadequate representation by counsel
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority |
Did not participate: Anthony M. Kennedy.
Full case caption
McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District 1
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-103, docket 1987-103-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, inadequate representation by counsel”
- Penson v. Ohio
- Strickland v. Washington
- Wood v. Georgia
- Wilkins v. United States
- Holloway v. Arkansas
- Johnson v. Avery
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Satterwhite v. Texas
- Wheat v. United States
- Patterson v. Illinois
- Perry v. Leeke
- Burger v. Kemp
- Pennsylvania v. Finley
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Ronald W. Reagan v. James Abourezk
- Langley et Ux. v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Forrester v. White
- Honig v. Doe
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Assibi Abudu
- City of St. Louis v. James H. Praprotnik
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