Amadeo v. Zant
486 U.S. 214 · Decided May 31, 1988 · 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
Amadeo v. Zant was decided on May 31, 1988 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 486 U.S. 214 · 108 S. Ct. 1771 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 249 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 2478
- Docket number
- 87-5277
- Decided
- May 31, 1988
- Argued
- March 28, 1988
- Court era
- Rehnquist 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
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Federal Rules of Civil or Appellate Procedure
- Type of law
- Court rules
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Amadeo v. Zant
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-090, docket 1987-090-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Rules of Civil or Appellate Procedure
- Houston v. Lack
- Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co.
- Mercilyn Buchanan Etc. v. Stanships, Inc.
- City of St. Louis v. James H. Praprotnik
- Omni Capital International, Ltd. v. Rudolf Wolff & Co., Ltd.
- Karcher v. May
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Carpenter v. United States
- Yates v. Aiken
- Lowenfield v. Phelps
- Taylor v. Illinois
- United States v. Owens
- United States v. Thomas O. Robinson, Jr.
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