Almendarez-Torres v. United States | |
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Argued October 14, 1997 Decided March 24, 1998 | |
Full case name | Hugo Almendarez-Torres v. United States of America |
Citations | 523 U.S. 224 (more) 118 S. Ct. 1219; 140 L. Ed. 2d 350 |
Case history | |
Prior | Conviction affirmed, 113 F.3d 515 (5th Cir. 1996); cert. granted, 520 U.S. 1154 (1997). |
Subsequent | Rehearing denied, 530 U.S. 1299 (2000). |
Holding | |
The fact of a defendant's prior convictions is not subject to the jury-trial requirement of the Sixth Amendment. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Breyer, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Thomas |
Dissent | Scalia, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg |
Laws applied | |
8 U.S.C. § 1326; U.S. Const. amend. VI |
Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court written by Justice Stephen Breyer which confirmed that a sentencing enhancement for a prior felony conviction was not subject to the Sixth Amendment requirement for a jury to determine the fact beyond a reasonable doubt.