McKaskle, Acting Director, Texas Department of Corrections v. Wiggins
Decided January 23, 1984. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 82-1135 · 465 U.S. 168 (1984) · Cited 2,288 times
Holding
Respondent's Sixth Amendment right to conduct his own defense was not violated, since it appears that he was allowed to make his own appearances as he saw fit and that his standby counsel's unsolicited involvement was held within reasonable limits.
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 · 5
- Sandra Day O'Connor · delivered the opinion of the Court
- John Paul Stevens
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 1
Dissenting · 3
- Byron Raymond White · filed a dissenting opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
“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.
- Faretta v. California · 422 U.S. 806 (1975)
- Jones v. Barnes · 463 U.S. 745 (1983)
- Harris v. New York · 401 U.S. 222 (1971)
- Snyder v. Massachusetts · 291 U.S. 97 (1934)
- Estelle v. Williams · 425 U.S. 501 (1976)
- Adams v. United States Ex Rel. McCann · 317 U.S. 269 (1943)
- Mayberry v. Pennsylvania · 400 U.S. 455 (1971)
- Brooks v. Tennessee · 406 U.S. 605 (1972)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Indiana v. Edwards · 554 U.S. 164 (2008)
- United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez · 548 U.S. 140 (2006)
- McCoy v. Louisiana · 584 U.S. 414 (2018)
- Weaver v. Massachusetts · 582 U.S. 286 (2017)
- Johnson v. United States · 520 U.S. 461 (1997)
- Martinez v. Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District · 528 U.S. 152 (2000)
- Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
- United States v. Cronic · 466 U.S. 648 (1984)
- Arizona v. Fulminante · 499 U.S. 279 (1991)
- Neder v. United States · 527 U.S. 1 (1999)
- Sullivan v. Louisiana · 508 U.S. 275 (1993)
- Washington v. Recuenco · 548 U.S. 212 (2006)
- Pliler v. Ford · 542 U.S. 225 (2004)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). 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).