James Gomez and Daniel Vasquez v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California
503 U.S. 653 · Decided April 21, 1992 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
James Gomez and Daniel Vasquez v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California was decided on April 21, 1992 by a vote of 7–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision. 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
Case details
- Citations
- 503 U.S. 653 · 112 S. Ct. 1652 · 118 L. Ed. 2d 293 · 1992 U.S. LEXIS 2691
- Docket number
- A-767
- Decided
- April 21, 1992
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Vacated
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority |
Full case caption
James Gomez and Daniel Vasquez v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1991-065, docket 1991-065-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”
- Dennis Sochor v. Florida
- Henry Jose Espinosa v. Florida
- In re James Blodgett
- Willie Lee Richmond v. Samuel A. Lewis
- Pervis Tyrone Payne v. TennesseeAltered precedent
- Paul Delo v. Frederick Lashley
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Alejandro Garcia Ibarra
- Wayne Estelle v. Mark Owen McGuire
- Guy Wooddell, Jr. v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
- In re James Blodgett
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Joseph Patrick Doherty
- Randall D. White v. Illinois
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