Williams v. Ohio

Williams v. Ohio Bradley v. Alabama

Williams v. Ohio, 480 U.S. 923 (1987)

Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Decided: March 9, 1987
Docket: Nos. 86-5307; No. 86-6015
Judges: Brennan, Marshall, White
Citations: 480 U.S. 923107 S. Ct. 1385

Cited by 9 1 descriptions by later courts

Opinion of the Court

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Sup. Ct. Ohio; and

Sup. Ct. Ala. Certio-rari denied.

Dissent — Brennan

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Justice Brennan,

dissenting.

Adhering to my view that the death penalty is in all circumstances cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U. S. 153, 227 (1976), I would grant certiorari and vacate the death sentences in these cases.

Dissent — White

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Justice White,

with whom Justice Brennan joins, dissenting in No. 86-5307.

In this case, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected petitioner’s claim that a statutory aggravating factor that repeats an element of the crime is unconstitutional because it fails to narrow the class of persons eligible for the death penalty. This decision is consistent with Wingo v. Blackburn, 783 F. 2d 1046, 1051 (CA5 1986), cert. pending, No. 86-5026, but in conflict with Collins v. Lockhart, 754 F. 2d 258, 263-264 (CA8), cert. denied, 474 U. S. 1013 (1985). I would grant certiorari to resolve this conflict.

Dissent — Marshall

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Justice Marshall,

dissenting.

In these cases, petitioners’ death sentences were founded on statutory aggravating factors that repeat elements of the underlying capital offenses. For reasons stated in Wiley v. Mississippi, 479 U. S. 906 (1986) (Marshall, J., dissenting from denial of cer-tiorari), I would grant the petitions for review.

How later courts describe this case

Explanatory parentheticals written by citing courts — 1 in all; the most informative distinct ones are shown.

(Brennan, Marshall, White, J.J., dissenting)

Berry v. C. Paul Phelps, Sec'y of Dep't of Corr. & Hilton Butler, Warden of La. State Prison, Angola, La., 819 F.2d 511 (5th Cir. 1987)

Cited by 9 cases

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Relies on it most ⓘ

Lewis Williams, Jr. v. Ralph Coyle, Warden260 F.3d 684 (6th Cir. 2001)
Morrison v. State551 So. 2d 435 (Ala. Crim. App. 1989)
Slaton v. State680 So. 2d 879 (Ala. Crim. App. 1995)
Freeman v. State776 So. 2d 160 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999)
Bradley v. Nagle212 F.3d 559 (11th Cir. 2000)
Sterling Rault, Sr. v. Robert H. Butler, Sr., Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary826 F.2d 299 (5th Cir. 1987)

Most recent

Lewis Williams, Jr. v. Ralph Coyle, Warden260 F.3d 684 (6th Cir. 2001)
Bradley v. Nagle212 F.3d 559 (11th Cir. 2000)
Freeman v. State776 So. 2d 160 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999)
Slaton v. State680 So. 2d 879 (Ala. Crim. App. 1995)
Bradley v. State557 So. 2d 1339 (Ala. Crim. App. 1989)
Mills v. State562 So. 2d 669 (Ala. Crim. App. 1989)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 4

Depth	Case	Cited by
	Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976)	6,081
	Collins v. A.L. Lockhart, Dir. of the Ark. Dep't of Corr., 754 F.2d 258 (8th Cir. 1985)	114
	Wiley v. Mississippi, 479 U.S. 906 (1986)	75
	Wingo v. Frank Blackburn,, La. State Penitentiary, 783 F.2d 1046 (5th Cir. 1986)	30

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