Ronald Rompilla v. Jeffrey A. Beard
545 U.S. 374 · Decided June 20, 2005 · 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
Ronald Rompilla v. Jeffrey A. Beard was decided on June 20, 2005 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice David H. Souter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Right to counsel” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 545 U.S. 374 · 125 S. Ct. 2456 · 162 L. Ed. 2d 360 · 2005 U.S. LEXIS 4846
- Docket number
- 04-5462
- Decided
- June 20, 2005
- Argued
- January 18, 2005
- 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
- David H. Souter
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Right to counsel
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- 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 | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Ronald Rompilla v. Jeffrey A. Beard, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
SCDB identifiers: case 2004-065, docket 2004-065-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Right to counsel”
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
- United States v. Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez-Lopez
- Iowa v. Felipe Edgardo Tovar
- John J. Fellers v. United States
- Michael Yarborough v. Lionel E. Gentry
- Kevin Wiggins v. Sewall Smith
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to counsel)
- Rothgery v. Gillespie County
- Robert Wong v. Fernando Belmontes, Jr.
- Blaine Lafler v. Anthony Cooper
- Missouri v. Galin E. Frye
- Deborah K. Johnson v. Tara Sheneva Williams
- Roselva Chaidez v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Gerald Devenpeck v. Jerome Anthony Alford
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
- David Whitfield v. United States
- United States v. Freddie J. BookerLaw held unconstitutional
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
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