Hamm v. Smith
146 S. Ct. 1251 · Decided May 21, 2026 · 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
Hamm v. Smith was decided on May 21, 2026 by a vote of 5–4. SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2025
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 24-872
Case details
- Citations
- 146 S. Ct. 1251 · 224 L. Ed. 2d 778 · 2026 U.S. LEXIS 2207
- Docket number
- 24-872
- Decided
- May 21, 2026
- Argued
- December 10, 2025
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Opinion assigned by
- Sonia Sotomayor
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Writ improvidently granted
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Dissent | |
| Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh | Majority | |
| Justice Amy Coney Barrett | Majority | |
| Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson | Concurrence |
Full case caption
Hamm v. Smith
SCDB identifiers: case 2025-029, docket 2025-029-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”
Cases on the same legal provision: Writ improvidently granted
- Moyle v. United States
- Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian
- Randall Ricci v. Village of Arlington Heights
- George G. Rogers v. United States
- Guy E. Adams v. Charlie Frank Robertson and Liberty National Life Insurance Company
- Verl Hadley v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Pitts v. Mississippi
- Clark v. Sweeney
- Bowe v. United States
- Case v. Montana
- Barrett v. United States
- Ellingburg v. United States
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