Joseph Williams v. United States
503 U.S. 193 · Decided March 9, 1992 · 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
Joseph Williams v. United States was decided on March 9, 1992 by a vote of 7–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, miscellaneous” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 503 U.S. 193 · 112 S. Ct. 1112 · 117 L. Ed. 2d 341 · 1992 U.S. LEXIS 1532
- Docket number
- 90-6297
- Decided
- March 9, 1992
- Argued
- November 6, 1991
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 3551
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority |
Full case caption
Joseph Williams v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1991-043, docket 1991-043-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, miscellaneous”
- Thomas Lee Deal v. United States
- Hughey v. United States
- United States v. Ralph Stuart Granderson, Jr.
- Darren J. Custis v. United States
- United States v. Kozminski
- Rodriguez v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C. § 3551
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