Whitley v. Albers

475 U.S. 312 · Decided March 4, 1986 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Whitley v. Albers was decided on March 4, 1986 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, non-death penalty” 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

Full case caption

Whitley, Individually and as Assistant Superintendent, Oregon State Penitentiary, et al. v. Albers

SCDB identifiers: case 1985-047, docket 1985-047-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)

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Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)

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• Hill v. Lockhart
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• Heath v. Alabama
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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