Cruz v. Arizona

Decided February 22, 2023. Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 21-846 · 598 U.S. 17 (2023) · Cited 20 times

Holding

The Arizona Supreme Court’s holding below—that Lynch v. Arizona, 578 U. S. 613, did not represent a “significant change in the law” for purposes of permitting Cruz to file a successive petition for state postconviction relief under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.1(g)—is not an adequate state-law ground supporting that judgment.

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. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Simmons v. South Carolina · 512 U.S. 154 (1994)
• Beard v. Kindler · 558 U.S. 53 (2009)
• Lee v. Kemna · 534 U.S. 362 (2002)
• Walker v. Martin · 562 U.S. 307 (2011)
• Coleman v. Thompson · 501 U.S. 722 (1991)
• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Ring v. Arizona · 536 U.S. 584 (2002)
• Bouie v. City of Columbia · 378 U.S. 347 (1964)
• Miller v. Alabama · 567 U.S. 460 (2012)
• Padilla v. Kentucky · 559 U.S. 356 (2010)
• Walton v. Arizona · 497 U.S. 639 (1990)
• Ford v. Georgia · 498 U.S. 411 (1991)
• Herb v. Pitcairn · 324 U.S. 117 (1945)
• Ramdass v. Angelone · 530 U.S. 156 (2000)
• Kelly v. South Carolina · 534 U.S. 246 (2002)
• Shafer v. South Carolina · 532 U.S. 36 (2001)
• Barr v. City of Columbia · 378 U.S. 146 (1964)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2023). 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).