Howard K. Stern v. Elaine T. Marshall

564 U.S. 462 · Decided June 23, 2011 · 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

Howard K. Stern v. Elaine T. Marshall was decided on June 23, 2011 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Wills and trusts” in the Private Action area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations: 564 U.S. 462 · 131 S. Ct. 2594 · 180 L. Ed. 2d 475 · 2011 U.S. LEXIS 4791
Docket number: 10-179
Decided: June 23, 2011
Argued: January 18, 2011
Term: October Term 2010
Court era: Roberts Court
Decision type: Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition: Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner: The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote: 5–4

Majority opinion: John G. Roberts Jr.
Opinion assigned by: John G. Roberts Jr.
How the case arrived: Certiorari
Issue (SCDB): Wills and trusts
Issue area: Private Action
Legal provision: 28-157
Type of law: Infrequently litigated statute
Held unconstitutional: An act of Congress
Decision direction (SCDB): Unspecifiable what this means

How the Justices voted

Justice	Vote	Separate writing
Justice Antonin Scalia	Concurrence	Wrote an opinion
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy	Majority
Justice Clarence Thomas	Majority
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg	Dissent
Justice Stephen G. Breyer	Dissent	Wrote an opinion
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.	Majority	Wrote an opinion
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.	Majority
Justice Sonia Sotomayor	Dissent
Justice Elena Kagan	Dissent

Full case caption

Howard K. Stern, Executor of the Estate of Vicki Lynn Marshall, Petitioner, v. Elaine T. Marshall, Executrix of the Estate of E. Pierce Marshall

SCDB identifiers: case 2010-079, docket 2010-079-01.

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