Statutory construction of criminal laws, narcotics and alcohol: Supreme Court decisions

Every U.S. Supreme Court decision from the 1946 through 2025 Terms that the Supreme Court Database classifies under the issue “Statutory construction of criminal laws, narcotics and alcohol,” part of the Criminal Procedure area.

27decisions

48%favorable to the petitioner

67%unanimous

0altered precedent or struck a law

Decisions by decade

1970s4

1980s1

1990s9

2000s4

2010s7

2020s2

Most majority opinions

Legal provisions most often involved

21 U.S.C. § 8414

21 U.S.C. § 8012

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)2

Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act 21 USC ss 8411

First Step Act,1

Hobbs Act1

Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act1

18-9241

All 27 decisions, newest first

Ruan v. United States
142 S. Ct. 2370Decided June 27, 20229–0Stephen G. Breyer
Terry v. United States
141 S. Ct. 1858Decided June 14, 20219–0Clarence Thomas
Taylor v. United States
579 U.S. 301Decided June 20, 20167–1Samuel A. Alito Jr.
McFadden v. United States
576 U.S. 186Decided June 18, 20159–0Clarence Thomas
Rosemond v. United States
572 U.S. 65Decided March 5, 20147–2Elena Kagan
Burrage v. United States
571 U.S. 204Decided January 27, 20149–0Antonin Scalia
Frantz Depierre v. United States
564 U.S. 70Decided June 9, 20119–0Sonia Sotomayor
Clifton Terelle McNeill v. United States
563 U.S. 816Decided June 6, 20119–0Clarence Thomas
Kevin Abbott v. United States
562 U.S. 8Decided November 15, 20108–0Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Salman Khade Abuelhawa v. United States
556 U.S. 816Decided May 26, 20099–0David H. Souter
Keith Lavon Burgess v. United States
553 U.S. 124Decided April 16, 20089–0Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Michael A. Watson v. United States
552 U.S. 74Decided December 10, 20079–0David H. Souter
United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and Jeffrey Jones
532 U.S. 483Decided May 14, 20018–0Clarence Thomas
Eddie Richardson v. United States
526 U.S. 813Decided June 1, 19996–3Stephen G. Breyer
Edwards v. United States
523 U.S. 511Decided April 28, 19989–0Stephen G. Breyer
Meirl Gilbert Neal v. United States
516 U.S. 284Decided January 22, 19969–0Anthony M. Kennedy
United States v. Juan Paul Robertson
514 U.S. 669Decided May 1, 19959–0Per curiam
Posters 'n' Things, Ltd. v. United States
511 U.S. 513Decided May 23, 19949–0Harry A. Blackmun
United States v. a Parcel of Land
507 U.S. 111Decided February 24, 19936–3John Paul Stevens
Richard L. Chapman v. United States
500 U.S. 453Decided May 30, 19917–2William H. Rehnquist
Daniel Touby et Ux. v. United States
500 U.S. 160Decided May 20, 19919–0Sandra Day O'Connor
Moshe Gozlon-Peretz v. United States
498 U.S. 395Decided February 19, 19919–0Anthony M. Kennedy
United States v. Turkette
452 U.S. 576Decided June 17, 19818–1Byron R. White
Bifulco v. United States
447 U.S. 381Decided June 16, 19806–3Harry A. Blackmun
United States v. Moore
423 U.S. 122Decided December 9, 19758–0Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Warden v. Marrero
417 U.S. 653Decided June 19, 19746–3William J. Brennan Jr.
Bradley v. United States
410 U.S. 605Decided March 5, 19738–1Thurgood Marshall

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