Ricketts v. Adamson
483 U.S. 1 · Decided June 22, 1987 · 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
Ricketts v. Adamson was decided on June 22, 1987 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Double jeopardy” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 483 U.S. 1 · 107 S. Ct. 2680 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1987 U.S. LEXIS 2866
- Docket number
- 86-6
- Decided
- June 22, 1987
- Argued
- April 1, 1987
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Double jeopardy
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority |
Full case caption
Ricketts, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, et al. v. Adamson
SCDB identifiers: case 1986-136, docket 1986-136-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Double jeopardy”
- Montana v. Hall
- Smalis v. Pennsylvania
- Poland v. Arizona
- Texas v. McCullough
- Morris v. Mathews
- Lockhart, A. L. v. Nelson
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Colorado v. Connelly
- Griffith v. Kentucky
- Colorado v. Bertine
- Connecticut v. Barrett
- California v. Brown
- Colorado v. Spring
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