United States v. Freddie J. Booker
543 U.S. 220 · Decided January 12, 2005 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
United States v. Freddie J. Booker was decided on January 12, 2005 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 543 U.S. 220 · 125 S. Ct. 738 · 160 L. Ed. 2d 621 · 2005 U.S. LEXIS 628
- Docket number
- 04-104
- Decided
- January 12, 2005
- Argued
- October 4, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C.
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- 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 | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
United States v. Freddie J. Booker
SCDB identifiers: case 2004-014, docket 2004-014-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- Reginald Shepard v. United States
- Ralph Howard Blakely, Jr. v. WashingtonLaw held unconstitutional
- Jeffrey Jerome Salinas v. United States
- Washington v. Arturo R. Recuenco
- John Cunningham v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Alphonso James, Jr. v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C.
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
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
- Melvin T. Smith v. Massachusetts
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