Victor A. Rita v. United States
551 U.S. 338 · Decided June 21, 2007 · 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
Victor A. Rita v. United States was decided on June 21, 2007 by a vote of 8–1. 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.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 551 U.S. 338 · 127 S. Ct. 2456 · 168 L. Ed. 2d 203 · 2007 U.S. LEXIS 8269
- Docket number
- 06-5754
- Decided
- June 21, 2007
- Argued
- February 20, 2007
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C.
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Victor A. Rita v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2006-067, docket 2006-067-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
- Alphonso James, Jr. v. United States
- John Cunningham v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- James D. Logan v. United States
- Brian Michael Gall v. United States
- Derrick Kimbrough v. United States
- United States v. Gino Rodriquez
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C.
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Robert L. Ayers, Jr. v. Fernando Belmontes
- Thomas L. Carey v. Mathew Musladin
- Lonnie Lee Burton v. Belinda Stewart
- United States v. Juan Resendiz-Ponce
- Jones v. Bock
- John Cunningham v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
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