2003 term per curiam opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States handed down seven per curiam opinions during its 2003 term, which lasted from October 6, 2003 until October 3, 2004. These were all decisions in which the Court either dismissed a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted, or summarily reversed the lower court based on the information and arguments presented in the petitions for certiorari and oppositions alone. These opinions accordingly tend to be shorter and less complicated than those in cases for which full briefing was submitted by the parties and oral argument conducted.

Because per curiam decisions are issued from the Court as an institution, these opinions all lack the attribution of authorship or joining votes to specific justices. All justices on the Court at the time the decision was handed down are assumed to have participated and concurred unless otherwise noted.

Contents

Court membership

Chief Justice: William Rehnquist

Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer

Yarborough v. Gentry

540 U.S. 1

Decided October 20, 2003

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed
Full case name: Michael Yarborough, Warden v. Lionel E. Gentry
Citations: 540 U.S. 1; 124 S. Ct. 1; 157 L. Ed. 2d 1; 2003 U.S. LEXIS 7701; 72 U.S.L.W. 3278; 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Service 9167; 2003 Daily Journal DAR 11517; 16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 479
Prior history: Petition denied, sub nom., Gentry v. Roe, C.D. Cal.; reversed, conviction vacated, 320 F.3d 891 (9th Cir. 2002)
Subsequent history: On remand, affirmed, sub nom., Gentry v. Roe, 381 F.3d 1219 (9th Cir. 2004)
Full text of the Court's decision (.pdf)

Mitchell v. Esparza

540 U.S. 12

Decided November 3, 2003

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded
Full case name: Betty Mitchell, Warden v. Gregory Esparza
Citations: 540 U.S. 12; 124 S. Ct. 7; 157 L. Ed. 2d 263; 2003 U.S. LEXIS 8191; 72 U.S.L.W. 3305; 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Service 9574; 17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 1
Prior history: Petition granted, N.D. Ohio; affirmed, 310 F.3d 414 (6th Cir. 2002)
Subsequent history: Reharing denied, 540 U.S. 1142 (2004)
Full text of the Court's decision (.pdf)

Illinois v. Fisher

540 U.S. 544

Decided February 23, 2004

Illinois Appellate Court reversed and remanded

Stevens filed a concurring opinion.
Full case name: Illinois v. Gregory Fisher
Citations: 540 U.S. 544; 124 S. Ct. 1200; 157 L. Ed. 2d 1060; 2004 U.S. LEXIS 1412; 72 U.S.L.W. 3533; 17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 144
Prior history: Defendant convicted, Cook County Circuit Court; reversed, Ill. App.; leave to appeal denied, 792 N.E.2d 310 (Ill. 2003)
Subsequent history:
Full text of the Court's decision (.pdf)

Mohammed v. Close

540 U.S. 749

Decided February 25, 2004

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded
Full case name: Shakur Mohammed, aka John E. Mease v. Mark Close
Citations: 540 U.S. 749; 124 S. Ct. 1303; 158 L. Ed. 2d 32; 2004 U.S. LEXIS 1627; 72 U.S.L.W. 4216; 17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 171
Prior history: Judgment for defendant, E.D. Mich.; affirmed, 47 Fed. Appx. 738 (6th Cir.)
Subsequent history: On remand, reversed, 379 F.3d 413 (6th Cir. 2004)
Full text of the Court's decision (.pdf)

Johnson v. California

541 U.S. 428

Argued March 30, 2004

Decided May 3, 2004

The Court took the unusual step of dismissing the case per curiam for want of jurisdiction after it had already been briefed and argued.
Full case name: Jay Shawn Johnson v. California
Citations: 541 U.S. 428; 124 S. Ct. 1833; 158 L. Ed. 2d 696; 2004 U.S. LEXIS 3380; 72 U.S.L.W. 4348; 17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 264
Prior history: Defendant convicted, No. 96-0691-4, Contra Costa County Superior Court, California; reversed, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 727 (Cal. App. 2001); review granted, 26 P.3d 1039 (Cal. 2001); reversed, 71 P.3d 270 (Cal. 2003); cert. granted, 540 U.S. 1045
Subsequent history: On remand, review denied, No. S127602, 2004 Cal. LEXIS 10226 (Cal. Oct. 20, 2004); cert. granted, 543 U.S. 1042 (2005); reversed and remanded, 545 U.S. 162 (2005); on remand, remanded, 38 Cal. 4th 1096 (Cal. App. 2006)
Full text of the Court's decision (.pdf)

Middleton v. McNeil

541 U.S. 433

Decided May 3, 2004

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded
Full case name: Raymond L. Middleton, Warden v. Sallie Marie McNeil
Citations: 541 U.S. 433; 124 S. Ct. 1830; 158 L. Ed. 2d 701; 2004 U.S. LEXIS 3381; 72 U.S.L.W. 3687; 17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 265
Prior history: Petition denied, C.D. Cal.; reversed, 344 F.3d 988 (9th Cir. 2003)
Subsequent history:
Full text of the Court's decision (.pdf)

Holland v. Jackson

542 U.S. 649

Decided June 28, 2004

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded

Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer would have denied certiorari.
Full case name: Flora Holland, Warden v. Jessie L. Jackson
Citations: 542 U.S. 649; 124 S. Ct. 2736; 159 L. Ed. 2d 683; 2004 U.S. LEXIS 4758; 72 U.S.L.W. 3766; 2004 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 474
Prior history: Habeas petition denied, M.D. Tenn.; reversed, 80 Fed. Appx. 392 (6th Cir. 2003)
Subsequent history:
Full text of the Court's decision (.pdf)

References

Supreme Court of the United States 2003 term (October 6, 2003 - October 3, 2004)
Opinions by justice: Chief Justice Rehnquist | Associate Justices Stevens | O'Connor | Scalia
Kennedy | Souter | Thomas | Ginsburg | Breyer