Salvador Godinez, Warden v. Richard Allan Moran
Decided June 24, 1993. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 92-725 · 509 U.S. 389 (1993) · Cited 1,916 times
Holding
The competency standard for pleading guilty or waiving the right to counsel is the same as the competency standard for standing trial: whether the defendant has "sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding" and a "rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him," Dusky v.
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.
Majority · 5
- Clarence Thomas · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- David Hackett Souter
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 2
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · filed a concurring opinion
- Antonin Scalia
Dissenting · 2
- Harry Andrew Blackmun · filed a dissenting opinion
- John Paul Stevens
“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.
- Dusky v. United States · 362 U.S. 402 (1960)
- Faretta v. California · 422 U.S. 806 (1975)
- Westbrook v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 150 (1966)
- Medina v. California · 505 U.S. 437 (1992)
- Drope v. Missouri · 420 U.S. 162 (1975)
- Massey v. Moore · 348 U.S. 105 (1954)
- Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
- Gideon v. Wainwright · 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
- Rees v. Peyton · 384 U.S. 312 (1966)
- Boykin v. Alabama · 395 U.S. 238 (1969)
- Pate v. Robinson · 383 U.S. 375 (1966)
- Riggins v. Nevada · 504 U.S. 127 (1992)
- Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
- Adams v. United States Ex Rel. McCann · 317 U.S. 269 (1943)
- Parke v. Raley · 506 U.S. 20 (1992)
- Brady v. United States · 397 U.S. 742 (1970)
- Patterson v. New York · 432 U.S. 197 (1977)
- Collins v. Youngblood · 497 U.S. 37 (1990)
- Miller v. Fenton · 474 U.S. 104 (1985)
- Jackson v. Indiana · 406 U.S. 715 (1972)
- Bottoson v. Florida · 469 U.S. 873 (1984)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Indiana v. Edwards · 554 U.S. 164 (2008)
- Cooper v. Oklahoma · 517 U.S. 348 (1996)
- McCoy v. Louisiana · 584 U.S. 414 (2018)
- Schiro v. Farley · 510 U.S. 222 (1994)
- Bradshaw v. Stumpf · 545 U.S. 175 (2005)
- Hopkins v. Reeves · 524 U.S. 88 (1998)
- Goeke v. Branch · 514 U.S. 115 (1995)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). 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).