Richard L. Chapman v. United States
500 U.S. 453 · Decided May 30, 1991 · 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
Richard L. Chapman v. United States was decided on May 30, 1991 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 “Statutory construction of criminal laws, narcotics and alcohol” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 500 U.S. 453 · 111 S. Ct. 1919 · 114 L. Ed. 2d 524 · 1991 U.S. LEXIS 3020
- Docket number
- 90-5744
- Decided
- May 30, 1991
- Argued
- March 26, 1991
- 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 area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 21 U.S.C. § 841
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority |
Full case caption
Richard L. Chapman, John M. Schoenecker and Patrick Brumm v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1990-089, docket 1990-089-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, narcotics and alcohol”
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Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Robert Lee Shell v. Mississippi
- Tommy Cage v. Louisiana
- R. Dobie Langenkamp v. C. A. Culp
- Raymond J. Moskal, Sr. v. United States
- Robert S. Minnick v. Mississippi
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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