Jose Padilla v. Kentucky
559 U.S. 356 · Decided March 31, 2010 · 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 Padilla v. Kentucky was decided on March 31, 2010 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens 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
- 559 U.S. 356 · 130 S. Ct. 1473 · 176 L. Ed. 2d 284 · 2010 U.S. LEXIS 2928
- Docket number
- 08-651
- Decided
- March 31, 2010
- Argued
- October 13, 2009
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- 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)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority |
Full case caption
Jose Padilla v. Kentucky
SCDB identifiers: case 2009-034, docket 2009-034-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Demarcus Ali Sears v. Stephen Upton
- Jesse Jay Montejo v. LouisianaAltered precedent
- Indiana v. Edwards
- Randall Wright v. Joseph L. Van Patten
- United States v. Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez-Lopez
- Kaley v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Robert Wong v. Fernando Belmontes, Jr.
- Rothgery v. Gillespie County
- 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)
- George Porter, Jr. v. Bill McCollum
- Michigan v. Jeremy Fisher
- Jeffrey A. Beard v. Joseph J. Kindler
- E. K. McDaniel v. Troy Brown
- Keith Smith v. Frank G. Spisak, Jr.
- Marcus A. Wellons v. Hilton Hall
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