Randall Wright v. Joseph L. Van Patten
552 U.S. 120 · Decided January 7, 2008 · 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
Randall Wright v. Joseph L. Van Patten was decided on January 7, 2008 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 552 U.S. 120 · 128 S. Ct. 743 · 169 L. Ed. 2d 583 · 2008 U.S. LEXIS 200
- Docket number
- 07-212
- Decided
- January 7, 2008
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (other provisions)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| 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 | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Randall Wright, Sheriff, Shawano County, Wisconsin v. Joseph L. Van Patten
SCDB identifiers: case 2007-009, docket 2007-009-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Indiana v. Edwards
- Jesse Jay Montejo v. LouisianaAltered precedent
- United States v. Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez-Lopez
- Jose Padilla v. Kentucky
- Demarcus Ali Sears v. Stephen Upton
- Ronald Rompilla v. Jeffrey A. Beard
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (other provisions)
- Eric Presley v. Georgia
- Mary Berghuis v. Diapolis Smith
- Allen Ryan Alleyne v. United StatesAltered precedent
- United States v. Edward G. Scheffer
- United States v. Tsarnaev
- Walton v. Arizona
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- James D. Logan v. United States
- Brian Michael Gall v. United States
- Michael A. Watson v. United States
- Derrick Kimbrough v. United States
- Stephen Danforth v. Minnesota
- Michael H. Boulware v. United States
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