Donald P. Roper v. Christopher Simmons

543 U.S. 551 · Decided March 1, 2005 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Donald P. Roper v. Christopher Simmons was decided on March 1, 2005 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Donald P. Roper, Superintendent, Potosi Correctional Center v. Christopher Simmons

SCDB identifiers: case 2004-024, docket 2004-024-01.

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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