Solem v. Helm

463 U.S. 277 · Decided June 28, 1983 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Solem v. Helm was decided on June 28, 1983 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. 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

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

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Solem, Warden, South Dakota State Penitentiary v. Helm

SCDB identifiers: case 1982-143, docket 1982-143-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty”

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Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)

• Zant v. Stephens
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• California v. Ramos
  463 U.S. 992Decided July 6, 19835–4Sandra Day O'Connor
• Wainwright v. Goode
  464 U.S. 78Decided November 28, 19837–2Per curiam
• Pulley v. Harris
  465 U.S. 37Decided January 23, 19847–2Byron R. White
• Enmund v. FloridaLaw held unconstitutional
  458 U.S. 782Decided July 2, 19825–4Byron R. White

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

• Anderson v. Harless
  459 U.S. 4Decided November 1, 19826–3Per curiam
• Wyrick v. Fields
  459 U.S. 42Decided November 29, 19828–1Per curiam
• Pillsbury Co. v. Conboy
  459 U.S. 248Decided January 11, 19837–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Missouri v. Hunter
  459 U.S. 359Decided January 19, 19837–2Warren E. Burger
• Marshall v. Lonberger
  459 U.S. 422Decided February 22, 19835–4William H. Rehnquist
• South Dakota v. Neville
  459 U.S. 553Decided February 22, 19837–2Sandra Day O'Connor

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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