Smith v. Murray, Director, Virginia Department of Corrections

Decided June 26, 1986. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-5487 · 477 U.S. 527 (1986) · Cited 1,683 times

Holding

Petitioner defaulted his underlying constitutional claim as to the admission of the psychiatrist's testimony by failing to press it before the Supreme Court of Virginia on direct appeal.

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. Sykes · 433 U.S. 72 (1977)
• Engle v. Isaac · 456 U.S. 107 (1982)
• Reed v. Ross · 468 U.S. 1 (1984)
• Zant v. Stephens · 462 U.S. 862 (1983)
• Estelle v. Smith · 451 U.S. 454 (1981)
• Moore v. Dempsey · 261 U.S. 86 (1923)
• Strickland v. Washington · 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Jones v. Barnes · 463 U.S. 745 (1983)
• Fay v. Noia · 372 U.S. 391 (1963)
• Ake v. Oklahoma · 470 U.S. 68 (1985)
• Rummel v. Estelle · 445 U.S. 263 (1980)
• Mapp v. Ohio · 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
• United States v. Cronic · 466 U.S. 648 (1984)
• Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati · 475 U.S. 469 (1986)
• Lockett v. Ohio · 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
• Malloy v. Hogan · 378 U.S. 1 (1964)
• Moran v. Burbine · 475 U.S. 412 (1986)
• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Gardner v. Florida · 430 U.S. 349 (1977)
• Miller v. Fenton · 474 U.S. 104 (1985)
• United States v. S.A. Empresa De Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense · 467 U.S. 797 (1984)
• Rogers v. Richmond · 365 U.S. 534 (1961)
• Bram v. United States · 168 U.S. 532 (1897)
• Jenkins v. Anderson · 447 U.S. 231 (1980)
• Counselman v. Hitchcock · 142 U.S. 547 (1892)
• California v. Ramos · 463 U.S. 992 (1983)
• Regents of the University of Michigan v. Ewing · 474 U.S. 214 (1985)
• Francis v. Henderson · 425 U.S. 536 (1976)
• Ex Parte Bollman and Swartwout · 8 U.S. 75 (1807)
• Propper v. Clark · 337 U.S. 472 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Dugger v. Adams · 489 U.S. 401 (1989)
• Sawyer v. Whitley · 505 U.S. 333 (1992)
• Harris v. Reed · 489 U.S. 255 (1989)
• Davila v. Davis · 582 U.S. 521 (2017)
• Schlup v. Delo · 513 U.S. 298 (1995)
• Bousley v. United States · 523 U.S. 614 (1998)
• Burger v. Kemp · 483 U.S. 776 (1987)
• Coleman v. Thompson · 501 U.S. 722 (1991)
• O'Sullivan v. Boerckel · 526 U.S. 838 (1999)
• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Smith v. Robbins · 528 U.S. 259 (2000)
• McCleskey v. Zant · 499 U.S. 467 (1991)
• Herrera v. Collins · 506 U.S. 390 (1993)
• Roe v. Flores-Ortega · 528 U.S. 470 (2000)
• Rose v. Clark · 478 U.S. 570 (1986)
• Calderon v. Thompson · 523 U.S. 538 (1998)
• Granberry v. Greer · 481 U.S. 129 (1987)
• Saffle v. Parks · 494 U.S. 484 (1990)
• Murray v. Giarratano · 492 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Ohio Adult Parole Authority v. Woodard · 523 U.S. 272 (1998)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).