Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Texas
552 U.S. 491 · Decided March 25, 2008 · 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
Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Texas was decided on March 25, 2008 by a vote of 6–3. 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 “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 552 U.S. 491 · 128 S. Ct. 1346 · 170 L. Ed. 2d 190 · 2008 U.S. LEXIS 2912
- Docket number
- 06-984
- Decided
- March 25, 2008
- Argued
- October 10, 2007
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Treaty
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | |
| 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 |
Full case caption
Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Texas
SCDB identifiers: case 2007-026, docket 2007-026-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction”
- Warner-Lambert Co., LLC v. Kimberly Kent
- Donna S. Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc.
- Arnold M. Preston v. Alex E. Ferrer
- Richard A. Levin v. Commerce Energy, Inc.
- Dennis Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC
- Keith Smith v. Bayer Corporation
Cases on the same legal provision: Treaty
- Moises Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon
- Timothy Mark Cameron Abbott v. Jacquelyn Vaye Abbott
- Olympic Airways v. Rubina Husain
- Jeffrey Lee Chafin v. Lynne Hales Chafin
- Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez
- Bg Group PLC v. Republic of Argentina
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Donna S. Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc.
- Arnold M. Preston v. Alex E. Ferrer
- G. Steven Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Association
- Warner-Lambert Co., LLC v. Kimberly Kent
- Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Brown
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