Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
543 U.S. 175 · Decided December 13, 2004 · 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
Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon was decided on December 13, 2004 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 543 U.S. 175 · 125 S. Ct. 551 · 160 L. Ed. 2d 565 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 8270
- Docket number
- 03-931
- Decided
- December 13, 2004
- Argued
- November 2, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: William H. Rehnquist.
Full case caption
Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
SCDB identifiers: case 2004-011, docket 2004-011-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Ronald Rompilla v. Jeffrey A. Beard
- Iowa v. Felipe Edgardo Tovar
- John J. Fellers v. United States
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Kevin Wiggins v. Sewall Smith
- United States v. Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez-Lopez
Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Donald P. Roper v. Christopher SimmonsAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Jill L. Brown v. Ronald L. Sanders
- Oregon v. Randy Lee Guzek
- Kansas v. Michael Lee Marsh
- Gary Albert Ewing v. California
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Gerald Devenpeck v. Jerome Anthony Alford
- David Whitfield v. United States
- United States v. Freddie J. BookerLaw held unconstitutional
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
- Melvin T. Smith v. Massachusetts
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