Diaz v. United States
Decided June 20, 2024. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 23-14 · 602 U.S. 526 (2024) · Cited 18 times
Holding
Expert testimony that “most people” in a group have a particular mental state is not an opinion about “the defendant” and thus does not violate Federal Rule of Evidence 704(b).
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 6–3.
Majority · 6
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Clarence Thomas · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Brett M. Kavanaugh
- Amy Coney Barrett
- Ketanji Brown Jackson · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan
- Neil M. Gorsuch · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
- Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael · 526 U.S. 137 (1999)
- United States v. Spaulding · 293 U.S. 498 (1935)
- United States v. Young · 470 U.S. 1 (1985)
- Francis v. Franklin · 471 U.S. 307 (1985)
- Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
- Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. · 509 U.S. 579 (1993)
- Mullaney v. Wilbur · 421 U.S. 684 (1975)
- Patterson v. New York · 432 U.S. 197 (1977)
- United States v. Scheffer · 523 U.S. 303 (1998)
- Staples v. United States · 511 U.S. 600 (1994)
- Smith v. United States · 508 U.S. 223 (1993)
- United States v. Bailey · 444 U.S. 394 (1980)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Krulewitch v. United States · 336 U.S. 440 (1949)
- Clark v. Arizona · 548 U.S. 735 (2006)
- Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc. · 562 U.S. 397 (2011)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Clarence Thomas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2024). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).