Lawrence W. Nelson aka Zikee v. United States
555 U.S. 350 · Decided January 26, 2009 · 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
Lawrence W. Nelson aka Zikee v. United States was decided on January 26, 2009 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 555 U.S. 350 · 129 S. Ct. 890 · 172 L. Ed. 2d 719 · 2009 U.S. LEXIS 872
- Docket number
- 08-5657
- Decided
- January 26, 2009
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18-appx
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Special concurrence |
Full case caption
Lawrence W. Nelson aka Zikee v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2008-021, docket 2008-021-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- Steven Spears v. United States
- Christopher Michael Dean v. United States
- James Eric Moore v. United States
- Irizarry v. United States
- United States v. Gino Rodriquez
- Brian Michael Gall v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- James Eric Moore v. United States
- Anthony Hedgpeth v. Michael Robert Pulido
- Deondery Chambers v. United States
- Bennie Dean Herring v. United States
- Oregon v. Thomas Eugene Ice
- Doug Waddington v. Cesar Sarausad
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