Kevin Wiggins v. Sewall Smith, Warden, et al.

Decided June 26, 2003. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 02-311 · 539 U.S. 510 (2003) · Cited 5,961 times

Holding

The performance of Wiggins’ attorneys at sentencing violated his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.

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 7–2.

“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.

• Strickland v. Washington · 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 362 (2000)
• Burger v. Kemp · 483 U.S. 776 (1987)
• Darden v. Wainwright · 477 U.S. 168 (1986)
• Lockyer v. Andrade · 538 U.S. 63 (2003)
• Penry v. Lynaugh · 492 U.S. 302 (1989)
• Miller-El v. Cockrell · 537 U.S. 322 (2003)
• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Lockett v. Ohio · 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
• Bell v. Cone · 535 U.S. 685 (2002)
• Lindh v. Murphy · 521 U.S. 320 (1997)
• Eddings v. Oklahoma · 455 U.S. 104 (1982)
• Simmons v. South Carolina · 512 U.S. 154 (1994)

Cited by

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

• Andrus v. Texas · 590 U.S. 806 (2020)
• Schriro v. Landrigan · 550 U.S. 465 (2007)
• Rompilla v. Beard · 545 U.S. 374 (2005)
• Wood v. Allen · 558 U.S. 290 (2010)
• Panetti v. Quarterman · 551 U.S. 930 (2007)
• Porter v. McCollum · 558 U.S. 30 (2009)
• Chaidez v. United States · 568 U.S. 342 (2013)
• Thornell v. Jones · 602 U.S. 154 (2024)
• Trevino v. Thaler · 569 U.S. 413 (2013)
• Glossip v. Gross · 576 U.S. 863 (2015)
• Bobby v. Van Hook · 558 U.S. 4 (2009)
• Brumfield v. Cain · 576 U.S. 305 (2015)
• Ayestas v. Davis · 584 U.S. 28 (2018)
• Harrington v. Richter · 562 U.S. 86 (2011)
• Yarborough v. Gentry · 540 U.S. 1 (2003)
• Dunn v. Reeves · 594 U.S. 731 (2021)
• Padilla v. Kentucky · 559 U.S. 356 (2010)
• Lafler v. Cooper · 566 U.S. 156 (2012)
• Knowles v. Mirzayance · 556 U.S. 111 (2009)
• McDonald v. City of Chicago · 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
• Tennard v. Dretke, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division · 542 U.S. 274 (2004)
• Wilson v. Sellers · 584 U.S. 122 (2018)
• Cone v. Bell · 556 U.S. 449 (2009)
• Wong v. Belmontes · 558 U.S. 15 (2009)
• Jones v. Mississippi · 593 U.S. 98 (2021)
• Smith v. Texas · 543 U.S. 37 (2004)
• Jefferson v. Upton · 560 U.S. 284 (2010)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2003). 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).