Salman Khade Abuelhawa v. United States
556 U.S. 816 · Decided May 26, 2009 · 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
Salman Khade Abuelhawa v. United States was decided on May 26, 2009 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice David H. Souter 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
- 556 U.S. 816 · 129 S. Ct. 2102 · 173 L. Ed. 2d 982 · 2009 U.S. LEXIS 3806
- Docket number
- 08-192
- Decided
- May 26, 2009
- Argued
- March 4, 2009
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- David H. Souter
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 21-843
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Salman Khade Abuelhawa v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2008-060, docket 2008-060-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, narcotics and alcohol”
- Keith Lavon Burgess v. United States
- Michael A. Watson v. United States
- Kevin Abbott v. United States
- Clifton Terelle McNeill v. United States
- Frantz Depierre v. United States
- Burrage v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- James Eric Moore v. United States
- Anthony Hedgpeth v. Michael Robert Pulido
- Deondery Chambers v. United States
- Bennie Dean Herring v. United States
- Oregon v. Thomas Eugene Ice
- Doug Waddington v. Cesar Sarausad
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