John E. Wetzel v. James Lambert
565 U.S. 520 · Decided February 21, 2012 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
John E. Wetzel v. James Lambert was decided on February 21, 2012 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 565 U.S. 520 · 132 S. Ct. 1195 · 182 L. Ed. 2d 35 · 2012 U.S. LEXIS 1684
- Docket number
- 11-38
- Decided
- February 21, 2012
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Discovery and inspection in criminal cases
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Type of law
- No legal provision
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| 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 | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Dissent |
Full case caption
John E. Wetzel, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et Al., Petitioners v. James Lambert
SCDB identifiers: case 2011-024, docket 2011-024-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Discovery and inspection in criminal cases”
- Juan Smith v. Burl Cain
- Marcus A. Wellons v. Hilton Hall
- District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. William G. Osborne
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- Wearry v. Cain
- Turner v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Javier Cavazos v. Shirley Ree Smith
- David Bobby v. Archie Dixon
- Eric Greene v. Jon Fisher
- Marcus Hardy v. Irving L. Cross
- Margaret Minneci v. Richard Lee Pollard
- Juan Smith v. Burl Cain
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