Stephen Danforth v. Minnesota
552 U.S. 264 · Decided February 20, 2008 · 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
Stephen Danforth v. Minnesota was decided on February 20, 2008 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Retroactivity of new rights” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 552 U.S. 264 · 128 S. Ct. 1029 · 169 L. Ed. 2d 859 · 2008 U.S. LEXIS 2012
- Docket number
- 06-8273
- Decided
- February 20, 2008
- Argued
- October 31, 2007
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Retroactivity of new rights
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Stephen Danforth v. Minnesota
SCDB identifiers: case 2007-016, docket 2007-016-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Retroactivity of new rights”
- Glen Whorton v. Marvin Howard Bockting
- Dora B. Schriro v. Warren Wesley Summerlin
- Jeffrey A. Beard v. George E. Banks
- Republic of Austria v. Altmann
- Edward Dorsey, Sr. v. United States
- Roselva Chaidez v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Richard F. Allen v. Daniel Siebert
- Munaf v. Geren
- John Francis Fry v. Cheryl K. Pliler
- Don Roper v. William Weaver
- Dora B. Schriro v. Jeffrey Timothy Landrigan
- Jalil Abdul-Kabir v. Nathaniel QuartermanLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- James D. Logan v. United States
- Brian Michael Gall v. United States
- Michael A. Watson v. United States
- Derrick Kimbrough v. United States
- Randall Wright v. Joseph L. Van Patten
- Michael H. Boulware v. United States
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