Donald Bullcoming v. New Mexico
564 U.S. 647 · Decided June 23, 2011 · 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
Donald Bullcoming v. New Mexico was decided on June 23, 2011 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 564 U.S. 647 · 131 S. Ct. 2705 · 180 L. Ed. 2d 610 · 2011 U.S. LEXIS 4790
- Docket number
- 09-10876
- Decided
- June 23, 2011
- Argued
- March 2, 2011
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- 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
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- Antonin Scalia
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Donald Bullcoming, Petitioner v. New Mexico
SCDB identifiers: case 2010-075, docket 2010-075-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Michigan v. Richard Perry Bryant
- Marcus Hardy v. Irving L. Cross
- Williams v. Illinois
- Mark A. Briscoe and Sheldon A. Cypress v. Virginia
- Luis E. Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
- Giles v. California
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Berger v. California
- Roberts v. Russell
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Bill K. Wilson v. Joseph E. Corcoran
- Kevin Abbott v. United States
- Kelly Harrington v. Joshua Richter
- Gary Swarthout v. Damon Cooke.
- Michigan v. Richard Perry Bryant
- Jason Pepper v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
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