Miller v. Alabama

E267316

Miller v. Alabama is a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Eighth Amendment case
United States Supreme Court case
criminal law case
juvenile justice case
ageCategory juvenile offenders under 18
appliesTo federal criminal sentencing schemes
state criminal sentencing schemes
areaOfLaw constitutional law
criminal sentencing
juvenile justice
citation 567 U.S. 460
citationStyle Miller v. Alabama self-linksurface differs
surface form: Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012)
constitutionalProvision Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
constitutionalRightProtected freedom from cruel and unusual punishments
country United States of America
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 2012-06-25
decisionType landmark decision
dissentingJustices Antonin Scalia
Clarence Thomas
John G. Roberts Jr.
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
docketNumber 10-9646
fullName Miller v. Alabama self-linksurface differs
surface form: Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012)
holding Mandatory life-without-parole schemes for juveniles are unconstitutional
Mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders violate the Eighth Amendment
Sentencers must have discretion to consider mitigating circumstances before imposing life without parole on juveniles
impact invalidated mandatory juvenile life-without-parole statutes in multiple states
jurisdiction United States of America
surface form: United States
legalIssue constitutionality of mandatory life without parole for juvenile offenders
legalPrinciple children are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes
majorityJustices Anthony M. Kennedy
surface form: Anthony Kennedy

Elena Kagan
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sonia Sotomayor
Stephen G. Breyer
surface form: Stephen Breyer
majorityOpinionBy Elena Kagan
overruledOrLimited limited the use of life without parole for juveniles
petitioner Evan Miller
precedentOf Montgomery v. Louisiana
relatedCase Graham v. Florida
Montgomery v. Louisiana
Roper v. Simmons
relatedDoctrine cruel and unusual punishments
proportionality in sentencing
requires individualized sentencing for juveniles facing life without parole
respondent Alabama
surface form: State of Alabama
ruleAnnounced Mandatory life-without-parole sentences for offenders under 18 at the time of their crimes are unconstitutional
sentencingSchemeAddressed mandatory life without parole
subjectMatter juvenile homicide offenders
voteSplit 5-4
yearDecided 2012

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

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

Graham v. Florida relatedCase Miller v. Alabama
Miller v. Alabama fullName Miller v. Alabama self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012)
Miller v. Alabama citationStyle Miller v. Alabama self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012)
October Term 2011 heardCase Miller v. Alabama