Skipper v. South Carolina
476 U.S. 1 · Decided April 29, 1986 · 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
Skipper v. South Carolina was decided on April 29, 1986 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 476 U.S. 1 · 106 S. Ct. 1669 · 90 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1986 U.S. LEXIS 145
- Docket number
- 84-6859
- Decided
- April 29, 1986
- Argued
- February 24, 1986
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Skipper v. South Carolina
SCDB identifiers: case 1985-073, docket 1985-073-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”
- Ford v. Wainwright
- Cabana v. Bullock
- Baldwin v. Alabama
- Caldwell v. Mississippi
- Tison v. Arizona
- McCleskey v. Kemp
Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Whitley v. Albers
- California v. Brown
- Solem v. Helm
- Murray v. Giarratano
- Hutto v. Davis
- Rhodes v. Chapman
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Delaware v. Fensterer
- Lanier v. South Carolina
- Pennsylvania v. Goldhammer
- Hill v. Lockhart
- Heath v. Alabama
- Miller v. Fenton
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