CaseTrail

Clemons v. Mississippi

494 U.S. 738 · Decided March 28, 1990 · 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

Clemons v. Mississippi was decided on March 28, 1990 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White 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
494 U.S. 738 · 110 S. Ct. 1441 · 108 L. Ed. 2d 725 · 1990 U.S. LEXIS 1667
Docket number
88-6873
Decided
March 28, 1990
Argued
November 28, 1989
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–4
Majority opinion
Byron R. White
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Clemons v. Mississippi

SCDB identifiers: case 1989-057, docket 1989-057-01.

Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

See all

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