Wood v. Georgia
450 U.S. 261 · Decided March 4, 1981 · 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
Wood v. Georgia was decided on March 4, 1981 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, inadequate representation by counsel” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 450 U.S. 261 · 101 S. Ct. 1097 · 67 L. Ed. 2d 220 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 76
- Docket number
- 79-6027
- Decided
- March 4, 1981
- Argued
- November 4, 1980
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, inadequate representation by counsel
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- 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 | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Wood et al. v. Georgia
SCDB identifiers: case 1980-050, docket 1980-050-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, inadequate representation by counsel”
- Wilkins v. United States
- Holloway v. Arkansas
- Strickland v. Washington
- McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin
- Penson v. Ohio
- Johnson v. Avery
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Dennis v. Sparks
- Allen v. McCurry
- United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz
- Delaware State College v. Ricks
- Fedorenko v. United States
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Associated Dry Goods Corp.
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