Harold E. Staples v. United States
511 U.S. 600 · Decided May 23, 1994 · 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
Harold E. Staples v. United States was decided on May 23, 1994 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas 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
- 511 U.S. 600 · 114 S. Ct. 1793 · 128 L. Ed. 2d 608 · 1994 U.S. LEXIS 3773
- Docket number
- 92-1441
- Decided
- May 23, 1994
- Argued
- November 30, 1993
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 26 U.S.C. § 5861
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Harold E. Staples, III v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1993-055, docket 1993-055-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, firearms”
- Lenard Ray Beecham v. United States
- John Angus Smith v. United States
- Roland J. Bailey v. United States
- Frank J. Muscarello v. United States
- Sillasse Bryan v. United States
- Gerald R. Caron v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Jimmie Burden, Jr. v. Walter Zant
- Waldemar Ratzlaf and Loretta Ratzlaf v. United States
- Thomas Schiro v. Robert Farley
- Paul Caspari v. Christopher Bohlen
- Clarence Victor v. Nebraska
- United States v. Ralph Stuart Granderson, Jr.
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