 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: to reflect the effect of the decision on California's prisons. (August 2015) |
| Brown v. Plata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued November 30, 2010 Decided May 23, 2011 | |
| Full case name | Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Governor of California, et al., Appellants v. Marciano Plata, et al. |
| Docket no. | 09-1233 |
| Citations | 563 U.S. 493 (more) 131 S. Ct. 1910; 179 L. Ed. 2d 969; 2011 U.S. LEXIS 4012 |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Judgment for complainant sub nom. Coleman v. Wilson, 912 F. Supp. 1282 (E.D. Cal. 1995); judgment for complainant sub nom. Plata v. Brown, 3:01-cv-01351-TEH (N.D. Cal. 2009). |
| Subsequent | Application for stay denied, 570 U.S. 938 (2013). |
| Holding | |
| A court-mandated population limit was necessary to remedy a violation of prisoners' Eighth Amendment constitutional rights. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Dissent | Scalia, joined by Thomas |
| Dissent | Alito, joined by Roberts |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amends. VIII, XIV; Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Prison Litigation Reform Act, Americans With Disabilities Act | |
Brown v. Plata, 563 U.S. 493 (2011), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a court-mandated population limit was necessary to remedy a violation of prisoners’ Eighth Amendment constitutional rights. Justice Kennedy filed the majority opinion of the 5 to 4 decision,[1] affirming a decision by a three judge panel of the United States District Court for the Eastern and Northern Districts of California which had ordered California to reduce its prison population to 137.5% of design capacity within two years.
Justice Scalia filed a dissent that was joined by Justice Thomas. A separate dissent was filed by Justice Alito that was joined by Chief Justice Roberts.
- ^ Brown v. Plata, 563 U.S. 493 (2011).
This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
