Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States
540 U.S. 375 · Decided December 15, 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
Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States was decided on December 15, 2003 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated 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 “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 540 U.S. 375 · 124 S. Ct. 786 · 157 L. Ed. 2d 778 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 9197
- Docket number
- 02-6683
- Decided
- December 15, 2003
- Argued
- October 15, 2003
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-020, docket 2003-020-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Betty Mitchell v. Gregory Esparza
- Doug Dretke v. Michael Wayne Haley
- Cheryl K. Pliler v. Richard Herman Ford
- Robert James Tennard v. Doug Dretke
- Donald H. Rumsfeld v. Jose Padilla and Donna R. Newman
- Shafiq Rasul v. George W. Bush
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2255 (habeas corpus)
- George H. Baldwin v. Michael Reese
- Michael Yarborough v. Michael Alvarado
- Ricky Bell v. Gary Bradford Cone
- Jill L. Brown v. William Charles Payton
- Robert Johnson, Jr. v. United States
- John A. Pace v. David Diguglielmo
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Betty Mitchell v. Gregory Esparza
- United States v. Lashawn Lowell Banks
- Maryland v. Joseph Jermaine Pringle
- Illinois v. Robert S. Lidster
- John J. Fellers 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