Charles Thomas Sell v. United States
539 U.S. 166 · Decided June 16, 2003 · 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
Charles Thomas Sell v. United States was decided on June 16, 2003 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights” in the Due Process area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 539 U.S. 166 · 123 S. Ct. 2174 · 156 L. Ed. 2d 197 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 4594
- Docket number
- 02-5664
- Decided
- June 16, 2003
- Argued
- March 3, 2003
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights
- Issue area
- Due Process
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Charles Thomas Sell v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-075, docket 2002-075-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights”
- Reginald A. Wilkinson v. Charles E. Austin
- Ohio Adult Parole Authority v. Eugene Woodard
- Leroy L. Young v. Ernest Eugene Harper
- Samuel A. Lewis v. Fletcher Casey, Jr.Altered precedent
- Cinda Sandin v. Demont R. D. Conner
- Robert C. Rufo v. Inmates of the Suffolk County Jail
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (due process)
- United States v. Angela Ruiz
- Yaser Esam Hamdi and Esam Fouad Hamdi as Next Friend of Yaser Esam Hamdi v. Donald H. Rumsfeld
- Larry Dean Dusenbery v. United States
- Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.
- Keshia Cherie Ashford Dixon v. United States
- Donald E. Nelson v. Adams
Same Term, same area (Due Process)
- Allen D. Brown and Greg Hayes v. Legal Foundation of Washington
- City of Los Angeles v. Edwin F. David
- Clyde Timothy Bunkley v. Florida
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