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Margaret Minneci v. Richard Lee Pollard

565 U.S. 118 · Decided January 10, 2012 · 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

Margaret Minneci v. Richard Lee Pollard was decided on January 10, 2012 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
565 U.S. 118 · 132 S. Ct. 617 · 181 L. Ed. 2d 606 · 2012 U.S. LEXIS 573
Docket number
10-1104
Decided
January 10, 2012
Argued
November 1, 2011
Court era
Roberts Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
8–1
Majority opinion
Stephen G. Breyer
Opinion assigned by
John G. Roberts Jr.
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Antonin ScaliaConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Anthony M. KennedyMajority
Justice Clarence ThomasConcurrence
Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Stephen G. BreyerMajorityWrote an opinion
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.Majority
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.Majority
Justice Sonia SotomayorMajority
Justice Elena KaganMajority

Full case caption

Margaret Minneci, et al. v. Richard Lee Pollard et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 2011-006, docket 2011-006-01.

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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