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Bryan Stuart Lankford v. Idaho

500 U.S. 110 · Decided May 20, 1991 · 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

Bryan Stuart Lankford v. Idaho was decided on May 20, 1991 by a vote of 5–4. 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 “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
500 U.S. 110 · 111 S. Ct. 1723 · 114 L. Ed. 2d 173 · 1991 U.S. LEXIS 2786
Docket number
88-7247
Decided
May 20, 1991
Argued
February 19, 1991
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–4
Majority opinion
John Paul Stevens
Opinion assigned by
Thurgood Marshall
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Bryan Stuart Lankford v. Idaho

SCDB identifiers: case 1990-072, docket 1990-072-01.

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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