Michael Gary Barber v. J. E. Thomas
560 U.S. 474 · Decided June 7, 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
Michael Gary Barber v. J. E. Thomas was decided on June 7, 2010 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the 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
- 560 U.S. 474 · 130 S. Ct. 2499 · 177 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 2010 U.S. LEXIS 4717
- Docket number
- 09-5201
- Decided
- June 7, 2010
- Argued
- March 30, 2010
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18-3624
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| 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 |
Full case caption
Michael Gary Barber, et al. v. J. E. Thomas, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 2009-064, docket 2009-064-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- Percy Dillon v. United States
- Jason Pepper v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
- Marcus Sykes v. United States
- Alejandra Tapia v. United States
- William Freeman v. United States
- Christopher Michael Dean 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