Smith v. Phillips

455 U.S. 209 · Decided January 25, 1982 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Smith v. Phillips was decided on January 25, 1982 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, impartial decision maker” in the Due Process area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Smith, Correctional Superintendent v. Phillips

SCDB identifiers: case 1981-038, docket 1981-038-01.

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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