Robert Lacy Parker v. Richard L. Dugger, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al.

Decided January 22, 1991. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-5961 · 498 U.S. 308 (1991) · Cited 432 times

Holding

The Florida Supreme Court acted arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to treat adequately Parker's nonstatutory mitigating evidence.

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.

• Wainwright v. Goode · 464 U.S. 78 (1983)
• Lewis v. Jeffers · 497 U.S. 764 (1990)
• Clemons v. Mississippi · 494 U.S. 738 (1990)
• Spaziano v. Florida · 468 U.S. 447 (1984)
• Barclay v. Florida · 463 U.S. 939 (1983)
• Walton v. Arizona · 497 U.S. 639 (1990)
• Hitchcock v. Dugger · 481 U.S. 393 (1987)
• Gregg v. Georgia · 428 U.S. 153 (1976)
• Lockett v. Ohio · 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
• Eddings v. Oklahoma · 455 U.S. 104 (1982)
• Zant v. Stephens · 462 U.S. 862 (1983)
• Pulley v. Harris · 465 U.S. 37 (1984)
• Proffitt v. Florida · 428 U.S. 242 (1976)
• Dobbert v. Florida · 432 U.S. 282 (1977)
• Gryger v. Burke · 334 U.S. 728 (1948)

Cited by

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

• Sochor v. Florida · 504 U.S. 527 (1992)
• Jefferson v. Upton · 560 U.S. 284 (2010)
• City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan · 575 U.S. 600 (2015)
• Stringer v. Black · 503 U.S. 222 (1992)
• Woodford v. Visciotti · 537 U.S. 19 (2002)
• Espinosa v. Florida · 505 U.S. 1079 (1992)
• Brown v. Sanders · 546 U.S. 212 (2006)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Sandra Day O'Connor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). 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).