Wainwright v. Sykes
433 U.S. 72 · Decided June 23, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Wainwright v. Sykes was decided on June 23, 1977 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Habeas corpus” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 433 U.S. 72 · 97 S. Ct. 2497 · 53 L. Ed. 2d 594 · 1977 U.S. LEXIS 135
- Docket number
- 75-1578
- Decided
- June 23, 1977
- Argued
- March 29, 1977
- 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Habeas corpus
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Wainwright, Secretary, Department of Offender Rehabilitation of Florida v. Sykes
SCDB identifiers: case 1976-162, docket 1976-162-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Habeas corpus”
- Swain v. Pressley
- Smith v. Digmon
- United States v. Mauro
- Stone v. Powell
- Francis v. Henderson
- United States v. Addonizio
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Morrison
- United States v. Rose
- United States v. Dieter
- United States v. Pomponio
- United States v. Sanford
- Moore v. United States
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