Steven Spears v. United States
555 U.S. 261 · Decided January 21, 2009 · 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
Steven Spears v. United States was decided on January 21, 2009 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 555 U.S. 261 · 129 S. Ct. 840 · 172 L. Ed. 2d 596 · 2009 U.S. LEXIS 864
- Docket number
- 08-5721
- Decided
- January 21, 2009
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18-3553
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Jurisdictional dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent |
Full case caption
Steven Spears v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2008-015, docket 2008-015-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- Lawrence W. Nelson aka Zikee v. United States
- Christopher Michael Dean v. United States
- James Eric Moore v. United States
- Irizarry v. United States
- United States v. Gino Rodriquez
- Brian Michael Gall v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- James Eric Moore v. United States
- Anthony Hedgpeth v. Michael Robert Pulido
- Deondery Chambers v. United States
- Bennie Dean Herring v. United States
- Oregon v. Thomas Eugene Ice
- Doug Waddington v. Cesar Sarausad
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