Terry Lynn Stinson v. United States

Decided May 3, 1993. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-8685 · 508 U.S. 36 (1993) · Cited 2,230 times

Holding

The Guidelines Manual’s commentary which interprets or explains a guideline is authoritative unless it violates the Constitution or a federal statute, or is inconsistent with, or a plainly erroneous reading of, that guideline.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Williams v. United States · 503 U.S. 193 (1992)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Udall v. Tallman · 380 U.S. 1 (1965)
• Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co. · 325 U.S. 410 (1945)
• Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council · 490 U.S. 332 (1989)
• Burns v. United States · 501 U.S. 129 (1991)
• United States v. Larionoff · 431 U.S. 864 (1977)
• Lyng v. Payne · 476 U.S. 926 (1986)
• Braxton v. United States · 500 U.S. 344 (1991)

Cited by

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

• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• United States v. LaBonte · 520 U.S. 751 (1997)
• Beckles v. United States · 580 U.S. 256 (2017)
• Blakely v. Washington · 542 U.S. 296 (2004)
• Thomas Jefferson University v. Shalala · 512 U.S. 504 (1994)
• Freeman v. United States · 564 U.S. 522 (2011)
• Shalala v. Guernsey Memorial Hospital · 514 U.S. 87 (1995)
• Neal v. United States · 516 U.S. 284 (1996)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)

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 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).