Gary Sherwood Small v. United States
544 U.S. 385 · Decided April 26, 2005 · 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 Sherwood Small v. United States was decided on April 26, 2005 by a vote of 5–3. 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 “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 544 U.S. 385 · 125 S. Ct. 1752 · 161 L. Ed. 2d 651 · 2005 U.S. LEXIS 3700
- Docket number
- 03-750
- Decided
- April 26, 2005
- Argued
- November 3, 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
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 922
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal 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 | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Did not participate: William H. Rehnquist.
Full case caption
Gary Sherwood Small v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2004-042, docket 2004-042-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms”
- United States v. Ahmed Ressam
- United States v. Randy Edward Hayes
- Jaime Castillo v. United States
- United States v. Martin O'Brien and Arthur Burgess
- Gerald R. Caron v. United States
- Sillasse Bryan v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C. § 922
- Jay Printz v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr.Law held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Gerald Devenpeck v. Jerome Anthony Alford
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
- David Whitfield v. United States
- United States v. Freddie J. BookerLaw held unconstitutional
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
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