Ralph Howard Blakely, Jr. v. Washington
542 U.S. 296 · Decided June 24, 2004 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Ralph Howard Blakely, Jr. v. Washington was decided on June 24, 2004 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 542 U.S. 296 · 124 S. Ct. 2531 · 159 L. Ed. 2d 403 · 2004 U.S. LEXIS 4573
- Docket number
- 02-1632
- Decided
- June 24, 2004
- Argued
- March 23, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to trial by jury)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Held unconstitutional
- A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Ralph Howard Blakely, Jr. v. Washington
SCDB identifiers: case 2003-080, docket 2003-080-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- United States v. Freddie J. BookerLaw held unconstitutional
- Reginald Shepard v. United States
- Jeffrey Jerome Salinas v. United States
- Timothy Stuart Ring v. ArizonaAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Washington v. Arturo R. Recuenco
- John Cunningham v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to trial by jury)
- Oregon v. Thomas Eugene Ice
- Ray A. Lewis v. United States
- United States v. Jerry J. Nachtigal
- Hurst v. FloridaAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- David Riggins v. Nevada
- Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Betty Mitchell v. Gregory Esparza
- United States v. Lashawn Lowell Banks
- Maryland v. Joseph Jermaine Pringle
- Hernan O'Ryan Castro v. United States
- Illinois v. Robert S. Lidster
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