Byron Keith Cooper v. Oklahoma

Decided April 16, 1996. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-5207 · 517 U.S. 348 (1996) · Cited 861 times

Holding

Because Oklahoma’s procedural rule allows the State to try a defendant who is more likely than not incompetent, it violates due process.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Medina v. California · 505 U.S. 437 (1992)
• Patterson v. New York · 432 U.S. 197 (1977)
• Addington v. Texas · 441 U.S. 418 (1979)
• Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health · 497 U.S. 261 (1990)
• O'Connor v. Donaldson · 422 U.S. 563 (1975)
• Boykin v. Alabama · 395 U.S. 238 (1969)
• Dusky v. United States · 362 U.S. 402 (1960)
• Pate v. Robinson · 383 U.S. 375 (1966)
• Drope v. Missouri · 420 U.S. 162 (1975)
• Jackson v. Indiana · 406 U.S. 715 (1972)
• Riggins v. Nevada · 504 U.S. 127 (1992)
• Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health · 497 U.S. 502 (1990)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Santosky v. Kramer · 455 U.S. 745 (1982)
• United States v. Cronic · 466 U.S. 648 (1984)
• Godinez v. Moran · 509 U.S. 389 (1993)
• Dowling v. United States · 493 U.S. 342 (1990)
• Woodby v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 385 U.S. 276 (1966)
• Schneiderman v. United States · 320 U.S. 118 (1943)
• Chaunt v. United States · 364 U.S. 350 (1960)
• Jacob v. New York City · 315 U.S. 752 (1942)

Cited by

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

• Nelson v. Colorado · 581 U.S. 128 (2017)
• Montana v. Egelhoff · 518 U.S. 37 (1996)
• Ryan v. Valencia Gonzales · 568 U.S. 57 (2013)

Official text

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

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

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). 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).