# 2003 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States

The 2003 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 6, 2003, and concluded October 3, 2004. The table illustrates which opinion was filed by each justice in each case and which justices joined each opinion.

## Table key

| | Delivered the Court's opinion | Joined the Court's opinion | Filed a concurrence | Joined a concurrence |
| | Filed a dissent | Joined a dissent | Filed a concurrence/dissent | Joined a concurrence/dissent |
| | Did not participate in the decision |
| Decisions that do not note an argument date were decided without oral argument. Decisions that do not note a Justice delivering the Court's opinion are per curiam. Multiple concurrences and dissents within a case are numbered, with joining votes numbered accordingly. Justices frequently join multiple opinions in a single case; each vote is subdivided accordingly. An asterisk ( * ) in the Court's opinion denotes that it was only a majority in part or a plurality. An asterisk in a joining vote denotes that the justice joined it only in part. A dash ( - ) denotes that the Justice voted without filing or joining an opinion. ||||||||

## 2003 term opinions

| # | Case name and citation | Argued | Decided | Rehnquist | Stevens | O'Connor | Scalia | Kennedy | Souter | Thomas | Ginsburg | Breyer |
| 1 | Yarborough v. Gentry, 540 U.S. 1 | | October 20, 2003 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Mitchell v. Esparza, 540 U.S. 12 | | November 3, 2003 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Barnhart v. Thomas, 540 U.S. 20 | October 14, 2003 | November 12, 2003 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | United States v. Banks, 540 U.S. 31 | October 15, 2003 | December 2, 2003 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez, 540 U.S. 44 | October 8, 2003 | December 2, 2003 | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Virginia v. Maryland, 540 U.S. 56 | October 7, 2003 | December 9, 2003 | | 12 | | | 12 | | | | |
| 7 | McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93 | September 8, 2003 | December 10, 2003 | 221 | 12*32 | 123 | 212*3*1 | 221 | 123 | 2*2*3 | 12*32 | 12*32 |
| 8 | Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366 | November 3, 2003 | December 15, 2003 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Castro v. United States, 540 U.S. 375 | October 15, 2003 | December 15, 2003 | | | | * | | | * | | |
| 10 | SEC v. Edwards, 540 U.S. 389 | November 4, 2003 | January 13, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Verizon Comm., Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko, LLP, 540 U.S. 398 | October 14, 2003 | January 13, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Illinois v. Lidster, 540 U.S. 419 | November 5, 2003 | January 13, 2004 | | * | | | | * | | * | |
| 13 | Frew v. Hawkins, 540 U.S. 431 | October 7, 2003 | January 14, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Kontrick v. Ryan, 540 U.S. 443 | November 3, 2003 | January 14, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Alaska Dep't of Envtl. Conservation v. EPA, 540 U.S. 461 | October 8, 2003 | January 21, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Fellers v. United States, 540 U.S. 519 | December 10, 2003 | January 26, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 17 | Lamie v. United States Trustee, 540 U.S. 526 | November 10, 2003 | January 26, 2004 | | | | * | | | | | |
| 18 | Illinois v. Fisher, 540 U.S. 544 | | February 23, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 19 | Groh v. Ramirez, 540 U.S. 551 | November 4, 2003 | February 24, 2004 | 12* | | | 2 | 1 | | 2 | | |
| 20 | General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. v. Cline, 540 U.S. 581 | November 12, 2003 | February 24, 2004 | | | | 1 | 2 | | 2 | | |
| 21 | Doe v. Chao, 540 U.S. 614 | December 3, 2003 | February 24, 2004 | | 1 | | * | | | | 1 | 12 |
| 22 | Olympic Airways v. Husain, 540 U.S. 644 | November 12, 2003 | February 24, 2004 | | | * | | | | | | |
| 23 | Banks v. Dretke, 540 U.S. 668 | December 8, 2003 | February 24, 2004 | | | | * | | | * | | |
| 24 | Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 | December 2, 2003 | February 25, 2004 | | | | 1 | | | 12 | | |
| 25 | United States Postal Serv. v. Flamingo Indus. (USA) Ltd., 540 U.S. 736 | December 1, 2003 | February 25, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 26 | Muhammad v. Close, 540 U.S. 749 | December 1, 2003 | February 25, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 27 | Raymond B. Yates, M.D., P.C. Profit Sharing Plan v. Hendon, 541 U.S. 1 | January 13, 2004 | March 2, 2004 | | | | 1 | | | 2 | | |
| 28 | Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27 | December 8, 2003 | March 2, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 29 | Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 | November 10, 2003 | March 8, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 30 | Iowa v. Tovar, 541 U.S. 77 | January 21, 2004 | March 8, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 31 | S. Fla. Water Mgmt. Dist. v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, 541 U.S. 95 | January 14, 2004 | March 23, 2004 | | | | * | | | | | |
| 32 | United States v. Galletti, 541 U.S. 114 | January 12, 2004 | March 23, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 33 | Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League, 541 U.S. 125 | January 12, 2004 | March 24, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 34 | United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149 | February 25, 2004 | March 30, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 35 | Nat'l Archives & Records Admin. v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157 | December 3, 2003 | March 30, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 36 | BedRoc Ltd., LLC v. United States, 541 U.S. 176 | January 20, 2004 | March 31, 2004 | * | | | | | | | | |
| 37 | United States v. Lara, 541 U.S. 193 | January 21, 2004 | April 19, 2004 | | 1 | | | 2 | | 3 | | |
| 38 | Household Credit Servs. v. Pfennig, 541 U.S. 232 | February 23, 2004 | April 21, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 39 | Engine Mfrs. Ass'n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 U.S. 246 | January 14, 2004 | April 28, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 40 | Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 U.S. 267 | December 10, 2003 | April 28, 2004 | | 1 | | * | | 2 | | 2 | 3 |
| 41 | Jones v. R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369 | February 24, 2004 | May 3, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 42 | Dretke v. Haley, 541 U.S. 386 | March 2, 2004 | May 3, 2004 | | 1 | | | 12 | 1 | | | |
| 43 | Scarborough v. Principi, 541 U.S. 401 | February 23, 2004 | May 3, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 44 | Johnson v. California, 541 U.S. 428 | March 30, 2004 | May 3, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 45 | Middleton v. McNeil, 541 U.S. 433 | | May 3, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 46 | Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. v. Hood, 541 U.S. 440 | March 1, 2004 | May 17, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 47 | Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 | December 2, 2003 | May 17, 2004 | | * | | | | | | | |
| 48 | Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509 | January 13, 2004 | May 17, 2004 | 1 | | | 2 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| 49 | Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global Group, L.P., 541 U.S. 567 | March 3, 2004 | May 17, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 50 | Sabri v. United States, 541 U.S. 600 | March 3, 2004 | May 17, 2004 | | | | *1 | *1 | | 2 | | |
| 51 | Thornton v. United States, 541 U.S. 615 | March 31, 2004 | May 24, 2004 | * | | *1 | 2 | | | | 2 | |
| 52 | Nelson v. Campbell, 541 U.S. 637 | March 29, 2004 | May 24, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 53 | Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652 | March 1, 2004 | June 1, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 54 | Republic of Austria v. Altmann, 541 U.S. 677 | February 25, 2004 | June 7, 2004 | | | | 1 | | 2 | | | 2 |
| 55 | Central Laborers' Pension Fund v. Heinz, 541 U.S. 739 | April 19, 2004 | June 7, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 56 | DOT v. Pub. Citizen, 541 U.S. 752 | April 21, 2004 | June 7, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 57 | City of Littleton v. Z. J. Gifts D-4, L.L.C., 541 U.S. 774 | March 24, 2004 | June 7, 2004 | | *1 | | 2 | *3 | *3 | | | |
| 58 | Elk Grove Unified Sch. Dist. v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1 | March 24, 2004 | June 14, 2004 | 1 | | 12 | | | | 1*3 | | |
| 59 | Norton v. S. Utah Wilderness Alliance, 542 U.S. 55 | March 29, 2004 | June 14, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 60 | United States v. Dominguez Benitez, 542 U.S. 74 | April 21, 2004 | June 14, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 61 | Hibbs v. Winn, 542 U.S. 88 | January 20, 2004 | June 14, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 62 | Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders, 542 U.S. 129 | March 31, 2004 | June 14, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 63 | F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd v. Empagran S. A., 542 U.S. 155 | April 26, 2004 | June 14, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 64 | Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada, 542 U.S. 177 | March 22, 2004 | June 21, 2004 | | 1 | | | | 2 | | 2 | 2 |
| 65 | Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila, 542 U.S. 200 | March 23, 2004 | June 21, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 66 | Pliler v. Ford, 542 U.S. 225 | April 26, 2004 | June 21, 2004 | | 1 | 2 | | | 1 | | 1 | 12 |
| 67 | Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 542 U.S. 241 | April 20, 2004 | June 21, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 68 | Tennard v. Dretke, 542 U.S. 274 | March 22, 2004 | June 24, 2004 | 1 | | | 2 | | | 3 | | |
| 69 | Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 | March 23, 2004 | June 24, 2004 | 1* | | 13 | | 1*2 | | | | 123 |
| 70 | Schriro v. Summerlin, 542 U.S. 348 | April 19, 2004 | June 24, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 71 | Cheney v. United States District Court, 542 U.S. 367 | April 27, 2004 | June 24, 2004 | | | | * | | | * | | |
| 72 | Beard v. Banks, 542 U.S. 406 | February 24, 2004 | June 24, 2004 | | 1 | | | | 12 | | 12 | 1 |
| 73 | Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426 | April 28, 2004 | June 28, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 74 | Rasul v. Bush, 542 U.S. 466 | April 20, 2004 | June 28, 2004 | | | | | | | | | |
| 75 | Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 | April 28, 2004 | June 28, 2004 | | 1 | * | 1 | | | 2 | | |
| 76 | Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. 600 | December 9, 2003 | June 28, 2004 | | | | | 1 | * | | | 2 |
| 77 | United States v. Patane, 542 U.S. 630 | December 9, 2003 | June 28, 2004 | | 1 | | | | 1 | * | 1 | 2 |
| 78 | Holland v. Jackson, 542 U.S. 649 | | June 28, 2004 | | - | | | | - | | - | - |
| 79 | Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 542 U.S. 656 | March 2, 2004 | June 29, 2004 | 2 | | 2 | 1 | | | | | 2 |
| 80 | Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692 | March 30, 2004 | June 29, 2004 | *1 | | | *1 | | | *1 | *2 | *23 |
| # | Case name and citation | Argued | Decided | Rehnquist | Stevens | O'Connor | Scalia | Kennedy | Souter | Thomas | Ginsburg | Breyer |

## 2003 term membership and statistics

This was the eighteenth term of Chief Justice Rehnquist's tenure, and the tenth consecutive term in which the Court's membership had not changed.
| Justice | Justice | Appointment history | Appointment history | Agreement with judgment | Agreement with judgment | Opinions filed | Opinions filed | Opinions filed | Opinions filed | Opinions filed |
| Seniority | Name | President | Date confirmed | % | # | | | | | Total |
| Chief Justice | William Rehnquist | Richard Nixon | January 7, 1972 | 85% | 68/80 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| Associate Justice | John Paul Stevens | Gerald Ford | December 19, 1975 | 76.3% | 61/80 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 29 |
| Associate Justice | Sandra Day O'Connor | Ronald Reagan | September 25, 1981 | 93.6% | 73/78 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| Associate Justice | Antonin Scalia | Ronald Reagan | September 26, 1986 | 74.7% | 59/79 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 30 |
| Associate Justice | Anthony Kennedy | Ronald Reagan | February 18, 1988 | 86.3% | 69/80 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 23 |
| Associate Justice | David Souter | George H. W. Bush | October 9, 1990 | 78.5% | 62/79 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 18 |
| Associate Justice | Clarence Thomas | George H. W. Bush | October 23, 1991 | 78.8% | 63/80 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 27 |
| Associate Justice | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Bill Clinton | August 10, 1993 | 80% | 64/80 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
| Associate Justice | Stephen Breyer | Bill Clinton | August 3, 1994 | 80.8% | 63/78 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 22 |
| Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals |
| Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. Individual opinion counts will not match the Court's totals; Stevens and O'Connor's jointly authored opinion for the Court in McConnell v. FEC is counted separately for both justices but counted only once in the Court's totals. | 75 | 49 | 8 | 60 | 192 |