Richard Demarest v. James
498 U.S. 184 · Decided January 8, 1991 · 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
Richard Demarest v. James was decided on January 8, 1991 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Subconstitutional fair procedure, miscellaneous” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 498 U.S. 184 · 111 S. Ct. 599 · 112 L. Ed. 2d 608 · 1991 U.S. LEXIS 346
- Docket number
- 89-5916
- Decided
- January 8, 1991
- Argued
- November 6, 1990
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Subconstitutional fair procedure, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 1821
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority |
Full case caption
Richard Demarest v. James, Manspeaker et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1990-018, docket 1990-018-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Subconstitutional fair procedure, miscellaneous”
- United States v. Darlina K. France
- Peretz v. United States
- United States v. Richard Wilson
- United States v. Humberto Alvarez-Machain
- Gomez v. United States
- Bank of Nova Scotia v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. § 1821
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Robert Lee Shell v. Mississippi
- Tommy Cage v. Louisiana
- R. Dobie Langenkamp v. C. A. Culp
- Raymond J. Moskal, Sr. v. United States
- Robert S. Minnick v. Mississippi
- John L. Cheek 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