Kennedy v. Louisiana

Decided June 25, 2008. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 07-343 · 554 U.S. 407 (2008) · Cited 620 times

Holding

The Eighth Amendment bars Louisiana from imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim’s death.

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.

• Coker v. Georgia · 433 U.S. 584 (1977)
• Atkins v. Virginia · 536 U.S. 304 (2002)
• Roper v. Simmons · 543 U.S. 551 (2005)
• Enmund v. Florida · 458 U.S. 782 (1982)
• Gregg v. Georgia · 428 U.S. 153 (1976)
• Furman v. Georgia · 408 U.S. 238 (1972)
• Trop v. Dulles · 356 U.S. 86 (1958)
• Jurek v. Texas · 428 U.S. 262 (1976)
• Walton v. Arizona · 497 U.S. 639 (1990)
• Woodson v. North Carolina · 428 U.S. 280 (1976)
• Roberts v. Louisiana · 428 U.S. 325 (1976)
• Harmelin v. Michigan · 501 U.S. 957 (1991)
• Tison v. Arizona · 481 U.S. 137 (1987)
• Stanford v. Kentucky · 492 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Arave v. Creech · 507 U.S. 463 (1993)
• Godfrey v. Georgia · 446 U.S. 420 (1980)
• Tuilaepa v. California · 512 U.S. 967 (1994)
• Penry v. Lynaugh · 492 U.S. 302 (1989)
• Pennsylvania v. Ritchie · 480 U.S. 39 (1987)
• Lockett v. Ohio · 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
• Robinson v. California · 370 U.S. 660 (1962)
• Proffitt v. Florida · 428 U.S. 242 (1976)
• California v. Brown · 479 U.S. 538 (1987)
• Thompson v. Oklahoma · 487 U.S. 815 (1988)
• Panetti v. Quarterman · 551 U.S. 930 (2007)
• Baze v. Rees · 553 U.S. 35 (2008)
• Callins v. Collins, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division · 510 U.S. 1141 (1994)
• Baltimore Teachers Union v. Mayor of Baltimore · 510 U.S. 1141 (1994)

Cited by

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

• Miller v. Alabama · 567 U.S. 460 (2012)
• Glossip v. Gross · 576 U.S. 863 (2015)
• Hall v. Florida · 572 U.S. 701 (2014)
• Bucklew v. Precythe · 587 U.S. 119 (2019)
• United States v. Kebodeaux · 570 U.S. 387 (2013)
• United States v. Briggs · 592 U.S. 69 (2020)
• United States v. Comstock · 560 U.S. 126 (2010)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2008). 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).