Wayne Estelle v. Mark Owen McGuire

502 U.S. 62 · Decided December 4, 1991 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Wayne Estelle v. Mark Owen McGuire was decided on December 4, 1991 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extra-legal jury influences, jury instructions” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: Clarence Thomas.

Full case caption

Wayne Estelle, Warden v. Mark Owen McGuire

SCDB identifiers: case 1991-007, docket 1991-007-01.

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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