Richard Lyle Austin v. United States
509 U.S. 602 · Decided June 28, 1993 · 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 Lyle Austin v. United States was decided on June 28, 1993 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 509 U.S. 602 · 113 S. Ct. 2801 · 125 L. Ed. 2d 488 · 1993 U.S. LEXIS 4407
- Docket number
- 92-6073
- Decided
- June 28, 1993
- Argued
- April 20, 1993
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- Harry A. Blackmun
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 21 U.S.C. § 881
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence |
Full case caption
Richard Lyle Austin v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1992-115, docket 1992-115-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty”
- Donald L. Helling v. William McKinney
- Dee Farmer v. Edward Brennan
- Keith J. Hudson v. Jack McMillian
- Ronald Allen Harmelin v. Michigan
- Pearly L. Wilson v. Richard Seiter
- United States v. Hosep Krikor BajakajianLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: 21 U.S.C. § 881
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Al C. Parke v. Ricky Harold Raley
- Willie Lee Richmond v. Samuel A. Lewis
- Edward Soldal v. Cook County
- Michael Crosby v. United States
- Wilburn Dobbs v. Walter D. Zant
- A. L. Lockhart v. Bobby Ray Fretwell
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