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Welch v. United States

578 U.S. 120 · Decided April 18, 2016 · 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

Welch v. United States was decided on April 18, 2016 by a vote of 7–1. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Retroactivity of new rights” in the Criminal Procedure area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
578 U.S. 120 · 136 S. Ct. 1257 · 194 L. Ed. 2d 387 · 2016 U.S. LEXIS 2451
Docket number
15-6418
Decided
April 18, 2016
Argued
March 30, 2016
Court era
Roberts Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
7–1
Majority opinion
Anthony M. Kennedy
Opinion assigned by
John G. Roberts Jr.
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Fifth Amendment (due process)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Welch v. United States

SCDB identifiers: case 2015-055, docket 2015-055-01.

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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