Jose Francisco Sosa v. Humberto Alvarez-Machain et al.

Decided June 29, 2004. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 03-339 · 542 U.S. 692 (2004) · Cited 1,133 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“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.

• Richards v. United States · 369 U.S. 1 (1962)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• United States v. Alvarez-Machain · 504 U.S. 655 (1992)
• Banco Nacional De Cuba v. Sabbatino · 376 U.S. 398 (1964)
• Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko · 534 U.S. 61 (2001)
• Texas Industries, Inc. v. Radcliff Materials, Inc. · 451 U.S. 630 (1981)
• Smith v. United States · 507 U.S. 197 (1993)
• United States v. Spelar · 338 U.S. 217 (1949)
• The Paquete Habana · 175 U.S. 677 (1899)
• Feres v. United States · 340 U.S. 135 (1950)
• Black & White Taxicab & Transfer Co. v. Brown & Yellow Taxicab & Transfer Co. · 276 U.S. 518 (1928)
• United States v. Smith · 18 U.S. 153 (1820)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr · 533 U.S. 289 (2001)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Groh v. Ramirez · 540 U.S. 551 (2004)
• Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
• United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc. · 440 U.S. 715 (1979)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Transport Workers Union · 451 U.S. 77 (1981)
• Illinois v. City of Milwaukee · 406 U.S. 91 (1972)
• Gutierrez De Martinez v. Lamagno · 515 U.S. 417 (1995)
• City of Milwaukee v. Illinois · 451 U.S. 304 (1981)
• Republic of Austria v. Altmann · 541 U.S. 677 (2004)
• Murray v. Schooner Charming Betsy · 6 U.S. 64 (1804)
• Day & Zimmermann, Inc. v. Challoner · 423 U.S. 3 (1975)

Cited by

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

• Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC · 584 U.S. 241 (2018)
• Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. · 569 U.S. 108 (2013)
• Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe · 593 U.S. 628 (2021)
• Staub v. Proctor Hospital · 562 U.S. 411 (2011)
• Hernández v. Mesa · 589 U.S. 93 (2020)
• Sebelius v. Auburn Regional Medical Center · 568 U.S. 145 (2013)
• Carpenter v. United States · 585 U.S. 296 (2018)
• Jama v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement · 543 U.S. 335 (2005)
• United States v. Rahimi · 602 U.S. 680 (2024)
• Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority · 566 U.S. 449 (2012)
• Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
• Pasquantino v. United States · 544 U.S. 349 (2005)
• DePierre v. United States · 564 U.S. 70 (2011)
• Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States · 598 U.S. 264 (2023)
• Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn · 604 U.S. 593 (2025)

Official text

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

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David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).