United States v. Gary Mezzanatto
Decided January 18, 1995. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 93-1340 · 513 U.S. 196 (1995) · Cited 504 times
Holding
An agreement to waive the plea-statement Rules’ exclusionary provisions is valid and enforceable absent some affirmative indication that the defendant entered the agreement unknowingly or involuntarily.
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 · 4
- Clarence Thomas · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Antonin Scalia
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 3
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a concurring opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
Dissenting · 2
- David Hackett Souter · 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.
- Crosby v. United States · 506 U.S. 255 (1993)
- Smith v. United States · 360 U.S. 1 (1959)
- Brooklyn Savings Bank v. O'Neil · 324 U.S. 697 (1945)
- United States v. Olano · 507 U.S. 725 (1993)
- Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
- Santobello v. New York · 404 U.S. 257 (1971)
- Town of Newton v. Rumery · 480 U.S. 386 (1987)
- Boykin v. Alabama · 395 U.S. 238 (1969)
- Green v. United States · 355 U.S. 184 (1957)
- Bordenkircher v. Hayes · 434 U.S. 357 (1978)
- United States v. Powell · 469 U.S. 57 (1984)
- Wheat v. United States · 486 U.S. 153 (1988)
- Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
- Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
- Jenkins v. Anderson · 447 U.S. 231 (1980)
- United States v. Chemical Foundation, Inc. · 272 U.S. 1 (1926)
- Williamson v. United States · 512 U.S. 594 (1994)
- Chaffin v. Stynchcombe · 412 U.S. 17 (1973)
- Brown v. United States · 356 U.S. 148 (1958)
- Peretz v. United States · 501 U.S. 923 (1991)
- Evans v. Jeff D. Ex Rel. Johnson · 475 U.S. 717 (1986)
- Corbitt v. New Jersey · 439 U.S. 212 (1978)
- Ricketts v. Adamson · 483 U.S. 1 (1987)
- Guidry v. Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund · 493 U.S. 365 (1990)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Halbert v. Michigan · 545 U.S. 605 (2005)
- New York v. Hill · 528 U.S. 110 (2000)
- Strickler v. Greene · 527 U.S. 263 (1999)
- United States v. Armstrong · 517 U.S. 456 (1996)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Clarence Thomas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1995). 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).