Yates v. Aiken, Warden, et al.

Decided January 12, 1988. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 86-6060 · 484 U.S. 211 (1988) · Cited 185 times

Holding

As a matter of federal law, petitioner's conviction cannot stand in light of Francis.

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 8–0.

“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.

• Sandstrom v. Montana · 442 U.S. 510 (1979)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Francis v. Franklin · 471 U.S. 307 (1985)
• Desist v. United States · 394 U.S. 244 (1969)
• Batson v. Kentucky · 476 U.S. 79 (1986)
• Griffith v. Kentucky · 479 U.S. 314 (1987)
• United States v. Johnson · 457 U.S. 537 (1982)
• MacKey v. United States · 401 U.S. 667 (1971)
• Pennsylvania v. Finley · 481 U.S. 551 (1987)
• Dunaway v. New York · 442 U.S. 200 (1979)
• Mullaney v. Wilbur · 421 U.S. 684 (1975)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• Patterson v. New York · 432 U.S. 197 (1977)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• Allen v. Hardy · 478 U.S. 255 (1986)

Cited by

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

• Danforth v. Minnesota · 552 U.S. 264 (2008)
• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Yates v. Evatt · 500 U.S. 391 (1991)
• Penry v. Lynaugh · 492 U.S. 302 (1989)
• Chaidez v. United States · 568 U.S. 342 (2013)
• 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 (1988). 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).