Estelle v. Gamble

429 U.S. 97 · Decided November 30, 1976 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Estelle v. Gamble was decided on November 30, 1976 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.

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

Estelle, Corrections Director, et al. v. Gamble

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-016, docket 1976-016-01.

Related decisions

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

• Ingraham v. Wright
  430 U.S. 651Decided April 19, 19775–4Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Alabama v. Pugh
  438 U.S. 781Decided July 3, 19786–3Per curiam
• Rummel v. Estelle
  445 U.S. 263Decided March 18, 19805–4William H. Rehnquist
• Rhodes v. Chapman
  452 U.S. 337Decided June 15, 19818–1Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Hutto v. Davis
  454 U.S. 370Decided January 11, 19826–3Per curiam
• Solem v. Helm
  463 U.S. 277Decided June 28, 19835–4Lewis F. Powell Jr.

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

• Gardner v. Florida
  430 U.S. 349Decided March 22, 19778–1John Paul Stevens
• Gregg v. GeorgiaAltered precedent
  428 U.S. 153Decided July 2, 19767–2Potter Stewart
• Proffitt v. Florida
  428 U.S. 242Decided July 2, 19767–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Jurek v. Texas
  428 U.S. 262Decided July 2, 19767–2John Paul Stevens
• Woodson v. North CarolinaLaw held unconstitutional
  428 U.S. 280Decided July 2, 19765–4Potter Stewart
• Roberts v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
  428 U.S. 325Decided July 2, 19765–4John Paul Stevens

Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

• United States v. Morrison
  429 U.S. 1Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Rose
  429 U.S. 5Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Dieter
  429 U.S. 6Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Pomponio
  429 U.S. 10Decided October 12, 19769–0Per curiam
• United States v. Sanford
  429 U.S. 14Decided October 12, 19767–2Per curiam
• Moore v. United States
  429 U.S. 20Decided October 18, 19766–3Per curiam

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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