Alejandra Tapia v. United States
564 U.S. 319 · Decided June 16, 2011 · 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
Alejandra Tapia v. United States was decided on June 16, 2011 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 564 U.S. 319 · 131 S. Ct. 2382 · 180 L. Ed. 2d 357 · 2011 U.S. LEXIS 4556
- Docket number
- 10-5400
- Decided
- June 16, 2011
- Argued
- April 18, 2011
- 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
- Elena Kagan
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18-3582
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| 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. | Concurrence | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Alejandra Tapia, Petitioner v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2010-069, docket 2010-069-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- Marcus Sykes v. United States
- William Freeman v. United States
- Jason Pepper v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
- Percy Dillon v. United States
- Southern Union Co. v. United States
- Michael Gary Barber v. J. E. Thomas
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Bill K. Wilson v. Joseph E. Corcoran
- Kevin Abbott v. United States
- Kelly Harrington v. Joshua Richter
- Gary Swarthout v. Damon Cooke.
- Michigan v. Richard Perry Bryant
- Jason Pepper v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
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