Williams v. Illinois
567 U.S. 50 · Decided June 18, 2012 · 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
Williams v. Illinois was decided on June 18, 2012 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Confrontation of witnesses” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 567 U.S. 50 · 132 S. Ct. 2221 · 183 L. Ed. 2d 89 · 2012 U.S. LEXIS 4658
- Docket number
- 10-8505
- Decided
- June 18, 2012
- Argued
- December 6, 2011
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Samuel A. Alito Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Confrontation of witnesses
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Dissent | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Williams v. Illinois
SCDB identifiers: case 2011-068, docket 2011-068-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Confrontation of witnesses”
- Marcus Hardy v. Irving L. Cross
- Donald Bullcoming v. New Mexico
- Michigan v. Richard Perry Bryant
- Mark A. Briscoe and Sheldon A. Cypress v. Virginia
- Luis E. Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
- Ohio v. Clark
Cases on the same legal provision: Sixth Amendment (right to confront and cross-examine, compulsory process)
- Leonard Portuondo v. Ray Agard
- Clark v. Sweeney
- Crane v. Kentucky
- Berger v. California
- Roberts v. Russell
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Javier Cavazos v. Shirley Ree Smith
- David Bobby v. Archie Dixon
- Eric Greene v. Jon Fisher
- Marcus Hardy v. Irving L. Cross
- Margaret Minneci v. Richard Lee Pollard
- Juan Smith v. Burl Cain
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