Richard F. Trest v. Burl Cain
522 U.S. 87 · Decided December 9, 1997 · 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 F. Trest v. Burl Cain was decided on December 9, 1997 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 522 U.S. 87 · 118 S. Ct. 478 · 139 L. Ed. 2d 444 · 1997 U.S. LEXIS 7495
- Docket number
- 96-7901
- Decided
- December 9, 1997
- Argued
- November 10, 1997
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| 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 | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Richard F. Trest v. Burl Cain, Warden
SCDB identifiers: case 1997-008, docket 1997-008-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Angel Francisco Breard v. Fred W. Greene
- Arthur Calderon v. Thomas Thompson
- Kenneth Eugene Bousley v. United States
- Terry Stewart v. Ramon Martinez-Villareal
- Aaron Lindh v. James P. Murphy
- Arnold F. Hohn v. United StatesAltered precedent
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Garrit Bates v. United States
- Mario Salinas v. United States
- John Hudson v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Douglas McArthur Buchanan, Jr. v. Ronald J. Angelone
- James Brogan v. United States
- United States v. Hernan Ramirez
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