Xiulu Ruan v. United States

Decided June 27, 2022. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 20-1410 · 597 U.S. 450 (2022) · Cited 158 times

Holding

For the crime of prescribing controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice in violation of 21 U. S. C. §841, the mens rea “knowingly or intentionally” applies to the statute’s “except as authorized” clause.

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. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc. · 513 U.S. 64 (1994)
• Liparota v. United States · 471 U.S. 419 (1985)
• Elonis v. United States · 575 U.S. 723 (2015)
• United States v. United States Gypsum Co. · 438 U.S. 422 (1978)
• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• United States v. Moore · 423 U.S. 122 (1975)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• Staples v. United States · 511 U.S. 600 (1994)
• Dixon v. United States · 548 U.S. 1 (2006)
• Patterson v. New York · 432 U.S. 197 (1977)
• Smith v. United States · 568 U.S. 106 (2013)
• McKelvey v. United States · 260 U.S. 353 (1922)
• United States v. Yermian · 468 U.S. 63 (1984)
• Hamling v. United States · 418 U.S. 87 (1974)
• County Court of Ulster Cty. v. Allen · 442 U.S. 140 (1979)
• United States v. Bailey · 444 U.S. 394 (1980)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Cheek v. United States · 498 U.S. 192 (1991)
• Parker v. Matthews · 567 U.S. 37 (2012)
• The United States v. Hudson and Goodwin · 11 U.S. 32 (1812)
• Schaffer Ex Rel. Schaffer v. Weast · 546 U.S. 49 (2005)
• Rogers v. United States · 422 U.S. 35 (1975)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• Martin v. Ohio · 480 U.S. 228 (1987)
• Carter v. United States · 530 U.S. 255 (2000)
• United States v. Resendiz-Ponce · 549 U.S. 102 (2007)
• Boyd v. United States · 271 U.S. 104 (1926)
• Linder v. United States · 268 U.S. 5 (1925)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

Explore from here

Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2022). 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).