Iowa v. Felipe Edgardo Tovar
541 U.S. 77 · Decided March 8, 2004 · 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
Iowa v. Felipe Edgardo Tovar was decided on March 8, 2004 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 541 U.S. 77 · 124 S. Ct. 1379 · 158 L. Ed. 2d 209 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 1837
- Docket number
- 02-1541
- Decided
- March 8, 2004
- Argued
- January 21, 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative 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 | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Iowa v. Felipe Edgardo Tovar
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-041, docket 2003-041-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- John J. Fellers v. United States
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Kevin Wiggins v. Sewall Smith
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
- Ronald Rompilla v. Jeffrey A. Beard
- Alabama v. Lereed Shelton
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Rothgery v. Gillespie County
- Robert Wong v. Fernando Belmontes, Jr.
- Blaine Lafler v. Anthony Cooper
- Missouri v. Galin E. Frye
- Deborah K. Johnson v. Tara Sheneva Williams
- Roselva Chaidez v. United States
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
- Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States
- Illinois v. Robert S. Lidster
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