Darden v. Florida
430 U.S. 704 · Decided April 19, 1977 · 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
Darden v. Florida was decided on April 19, 1977 by a vote of 7–2. SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned 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
- 430 U.S. 704 · 97 S. Ct. 1671 · 51 L. Ed. 2d 751 · 1977 U.S. LEXIS 2187
- Docket number
- 76-5382
- Decided
- April 19, 1977
- Argued
- March 28, 1977
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Writ improvidently granted
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Full case caption
Darden v. Florida
SCDB identifiers: case 1976-087, docket 1976-087-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”
- Gardner v. Florida
- Roberts v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
- Coker v. GeorgiaLaw held unconstitutional
- Gregg v. GeorgiaAltered precedent
- Proffitt v. Florida
- Jurek v. Texas
Cases on the same legal provision: Writ improvidently granted
- Maness v. Wainwright
- Jones v. Hildebrant
- Cook v. Hudson
- Belcher v. Stengel
- Burrell v. McCray
- Quinn v. Muscare
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Morrison
- United States v. Rose
- United States v. Dieter
- United States v. Pomponio
- United States v. Sanford
- Moore v. United States
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