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
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Concurrence | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Margaret Minneci, et al. v. Richard Lee Pollard et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2011-006, docket 2011-006-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty”
- Edmund G. Brown, Jr. v. Marciano Plata
- Terrance Jamar Graham v. FloridaLaw held unconstitutional
- Joe Harris Sullivan v. Florida
- Taylor v. Riojas
- Gary Albert Ewing v. California
- Jones v. Mississippi
Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Evan Miller v. AlabamaLaw held unconstitutional
- Humberto Leal Garcia v. Texas
- Keith Smith v. Frank G. Spisak, Jr.
- Hall v. FloridaLaw held unconstitutional
- Glossip v. Gross
- Kennedy v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Javier Cavazos v. Shirley Ree Smith
- David Bobby v. Archie Dixon
- Eric Greene v. Jon Fisher
- Marcus Hardy v. Irving L. Cross
- Juan Smith v. Burl Cain
- Barion Perry v. New Hampshire
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