Rothgery v. Gillespie County

Decided June 23, 2008. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 07-440 · 554 U.S. 191 (2008) · Cited 442 times

Holding

A criminal defendant’s initial appearance before a magistrate, where he learns the charge against him and his liberty is subject to restriction, marks the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings that trigger attachment of the Sixth Amendment right to 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 8–1.

“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.

• Brewer v. Williams · 430 U.S. 387 (1977)
• Michigan v. Jackson · 475 U.S. 625 (1986)
• Kirby v. Illinois · 406 U.S. 682 (1972)
• United States v. Gouveia · 467 U.S. 180 (1984)
• McNeil v. Wisconsin · 501 U.S. 171 (1991)
• Coleman v. Alabama · 399 U.S. 1 (1970)
• Hamilton v. Alabama · 368 U.S. 52 (1961)
• Powell v. Alabama · 287 U.S. 45 (1932)
• White v. Maryland · 373 U.S. 59 (1963)
• Texas v. Cobb · 532 U.S. 162 (2001)
• United States v. Wade · 388 U.S. 218 (1967)
• United States v. Ash · 413 U.S. 300 (1973)
• Moran v. Burbine · 475 U.S. 412 (1986)
• Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
• Massiah v. United States · 377 U.S. 201 (1964)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Gideon v. Wainwright · 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
• Escobedo v. Illinois · 378 U.S. 478 (1964)
• Gerstein v. Pugh · 420 U.S. 103 (1975)
• Gilbert v. California · 388 U.S. 263 (1967)
• Estelle v. Smith · 451 U.S. 454 (1981)
• Counselman v. Hitchcock · 142 U.S. 547 (1892)
• Patterson v. Illinois · 487 U.S. 285 (1988)
• Michigan v. Harvey · 494 U.S. 344 (1990)
• Moore v. Illinois · 434 U.S. 220 (1977)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Edwards v. Arizona · 451 U.S. 477 (1981)
• Doggett v. United States · 505 U.S. 647 (1992)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Satterwhite v. Texas · 486 U.S. 249 (1988)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Haymond · 588 U.S. 634 (2019)
• Padilla v. Kentucky · 559 U.S. 356 (2010)
• Montejo v. Louisiana · 556 U.S. 778 (2009)

Official text

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

Explore from here

David Hackett Souter’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).