Brent Ray Brewer v. Nathaniel Quarterman, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division

Decided April 25, 2007. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 05-11287 · 550 U.S. 286 (2007) · Cited 105 times

Holding

Because the Texas capital sentencing statute, as interpreted by the CCA, impermissibly prevented Brewer’s jury from giving meaningful consideration and effect to constitutionally relevant mitigating evidence, the CCA’s decision denying Brewer relief under Penry v.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Penry v. Lynaugh · 492 U.S. 302 (1989)
• Graham v. Collins · 506 U.S. 461 (1993)
• Johnson v. Texas · 509 U.S. 350 (1993)
• Franklin v. Lynaugh · 487 U.S. 164 (1988)
• Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman · 550 U.S. 233 (2007)
• Jurek v. Texas · 428 U.S. 262 (1976)
• Saffle v. Parks · 494 U.S. 484 (1990)
• Tennard v. Dretke, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division · 542 U.S. 274 (2004)
• Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 362 (2000)
• Lockett v. Ohio · 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
• Penry v. Johnson · 532 U.S. 782 (2001)
• Eddings v. Oklahoma · 455 U.S. 104 (1982)
• Brown v. Payton · 544 U.S. 133 (2005)
• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Lockyer v. Andrade · 538 U.S. 63 (2003)
• Yarborough v. Alvarado · 541 U.S. 652 (2004)
• Walton v. Arizona · 497 U.S. 639 (1990)
• Felker v. Turpin · 518 U.S. 651 (1996)
• Mitchell v. Esparza · 540 U.S. 12 (2003)
• Smith v. Texas · 543 U.S. 37 (2004)
• Ayers v. Belmontes · 549 U.S. 7 (2006)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman · 550 U.S. 233 (2007)
• Schriro v. Landrigan · 550 U.S. 465 (2007)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2007). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).