Miller v. Alabama

Miller v. Alabama
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 19, 2012
Decided June 25, 2012
Full case nameEvan Miller, Petitioner v. Alabama; Kuntrell Jackson, Petitioner v. Ray Hobbs, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction
Docket nos.10-9646
10-9647
Citations567 U.S. 460 (more)
132 S. Ct. 2455; 183 L. Ed. 2d 407
Case history
PriorConviction affirmed sub nom. Miller v. State, 2010 WL 2546422 (Ala. Crim. App. June 25, 2010); rehearing denied, and new decision published, 63 So.3d 676 (Ala. Crim. App. August 27, 2010); certiorari denied sub nom. Ex parte Miller, unpub. n°1091663 (Ala. October 22, 2010); certiorari granted, 565 U. S. 1013 (2011). Conviction affirmed sub nom. Jackson v. State, 359 Ark. 87, 194 S.W.3d 757 (2004); petition for habeas relief dismissed, unpub. n°cv-08-28-2 (Jefferson Cnty Cir. Ct.); affirmed, 2011 Ark. 49, 378 S. W. 3d 103 (2011); certiorari granted, 565 U. S. 1013 (2011)
Holding
The Eighth Amendment prohibits a sentencing scheme that requires life in prison without the possibility of parole for juvenile homicide offenders.[1]
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Case opinions
MajorityKagan, joined by Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
ConcurrenceBreyer, joined by Sotomayor
DissentRoberts, joined by Scalia, Thomas, Alito
DissentThomas, joined by Scalia
DissentAlito, joined by Scalia
Laws applied
U.S. Const. Amend. VIII

Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012),[2] was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders.[3][4] The ruling applied even to those persons who had committed murder as a juvenile, extending beyond Graham v. Florida (2010), which had ruled juvenile life without parole sentences unconstitutional for crimes excluding murder.

  1. ^ "Miller v. Alabama". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  2. ^ "Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012)". Justia Law. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  3. ^ Savage, David G. (June 25, 2012). "Supreme Court rules mandatory juvenile life without parole cruel and unusual". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  4. ^ Cohen, Andrew (June 26, 2012). "If You Think Monday Was Bad at the Supreme Court ..." The Atlantic. Retrieved June 26, 2012.