Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Doug Dretke
544 U.S. 660 · Decided May 23, 2005 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Doug Dretke was decided on May 23, 2005 by a vote of 5–4. SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “No merits, writ improvidently granted” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 544 U.S. 660 · 125 S. Ct. 2088 · 161 L. Ed. 2d 982 · 2005 U.S. LEXIS 4344
- Docket number
- 04-5928
- Decided
- May 23, 2005
- Argued
- March 28, 2005
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- No merits, writ improvidently granted
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- 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 | Dissent | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Doug Dretke, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division
SCDB identifiers: case 2004-050, docket 2004-050-01.
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Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- John F. Kowalski v. John C. Tesmer
- Marlon Latodd Howell v. Mississippi
- Ricky Bell v. Gary Bradford Cone
- Claude M. Ballard v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
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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