Roper v. Simmons

E266467

Roper v. Simmons is a landmark 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held it unconstitutional to impose the death penalty for crimes committed by individuals under the age of 18.

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Eighth Amendment case
United States Supreme Court case
juvenile death penalty case
landmark decision
areaOfLaw capital punishment law
constitutional law
criminal law
arguedDate 2004-10-13
citation 543 U.S. 551
constitutionalProvision Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment
surface form: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States of America
surface form: United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 2005-03-01
dissentingJustices Antonin Scalia
Clarence Thomas
Sandra Day O’Connor
surface form: Sandra Day O'Connor

William H. Rehnquist
dissentingOpinionBy Antonin Scalia
docketNumber 03-633
fullName Roper v. Simmons self-link
holding Roper v. Simmons self-linksurface differs
surface form: The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed.

The death penalty for crimes committed by individuals under 18 years of age is unconstitutional.
impact prohibited execution of offenders who were under 18 at the time of their crimes in the United States
jurisdiction Missouri
legalIssue application of the Eighth Amendment to juvenile offenders
constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty
majorityJustices Anthony M. Kennedy
David H. Souter
John Paul Stevens
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen G. Breyer
majorityOpinionBy Anthony M. Kennedy
originatingCourt Missouri Supreme Court
surface form: Supreme Court of Missouri
overruledCase Stanford v. Kentucky
overruledPrecedent Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989)
petitioner Donald P. Roper
precedentType binding precedent on all U.S. state and federal courts
reasoning International opinion and practice were considered as confirmation of the Court's judgment.
Juveniles have diminished culpability compared to adults.
National consensus had developed against the juvenile death penalty.
The evolving standards of decency under the Eighth Amendment bar the juvenile death penalty.
relatedCase Atkins v. Virginia
Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989)
surface form: Stanford v. Kentucky

Thompson v. Oklahoma
respondent Christopher Simmons
result Death sentences for crimes committed by persons under 18 were invalidated nationwide.
separateDissentBy Sandra Day O’Connor
surface form: Sandra Day O'Connor
subjectMatter cruel and unusual punishment
juvenile capital punishment

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Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Rehnquist Court landmarkDecision Roper v. Simmons
opinion in Atkins v. Virginia relatedCase Roper v. Simmons
Roper v. Simmons fullName Roper v. Simmons self-link
Roper v. Simmons holding Roper v. Simmons self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed.
Graham v. Florida relatedCase Roper v. Simmons
Miller v. Alabama relatedCase Roper v. Simmons