Gary Albert Ewing v. California
538 U.S. 11 · Decided March 5, 2003 · 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
Gary Albert Ewing v. California was decided on March 5, 2003 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 538 U.S. 11 · 123 S. Ct. 1179 · 155 L. Ed. 2d 108 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 1952
- Docket number
- 01-6978
- Decided
- March 5, 2003
- Argued
- November 5, 2002
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Gary Albert Ewing v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-028, docket 2002-028-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty”
- United States v. Hosep Krikor BajakajianLaw held unconstitutional
- Terrance Jamar Graham v. FloridaLaw held unconstitutional
- Joe Harris Sullivan v. Florida
- Edmund G. Brown, Jr. v. Marciano Plata
- Dee Farmer v. Edward Brennan
- Margaret Minneci v. Richard Lee Pollard
Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Daryl Renard Atkins v. VirginiaAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
- Donald P. Roper v. Christopher SimmonsAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Jill L. Brown v. Ronald L. Sanders
- Oregon v. Randy Lee Guzek
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Richard E. Early v. William Packer
- Jeanne Woodford v. John Louis Visciotti
- Abu-Ali Abdur'rahman v. Ricky Bell
- David Allen Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania
- United States v. Francisco Jimenez Recio and Adrian Lopez-Meza
- Thomas Joe Miller-El v. Janie Cockrell
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