The table below lists the opinions delivered from the bench by the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 during the 2002 Term, which lasted from October 7, 2002, until October 5, 2003. The table illustrates what opinions were filed by each justice in each case, and which justices joined each opinion.

2002 term opinions

Case name	Argued	Decided	Rehnquist	Stevens	O'Connor	Scalia	Kennedy	Souter	Thomas	Ginsburg	Breyer
Ford Motor Co. v. McCauley, 537 U.S. 1	October 7, 2002	October 15, 2002
Early v. Packer, 537 U.S. 3		November 4, 2002
INS v. Ventura, 537 U.S. 12		November 4, 2002
Woodford v. Visciotti, 537 U.S. 19		November 4, 2002
Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Henson, 537 U.S. 28	October 15, 2002	November 5, 2002
Yellow Transportation, Inc. v. Michigan, 537 U.S. 36	October 7, 2002	November 5, 2002
Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine, 537 U.S. 51	October 15, 2002	December 3, 2002
United States v. Bean, 537 U.S. 71	October 16, 2002	December 10, 2002
Howsam v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 537 U.S. 79	October 9, 2002	December 10, 2002
Abdur'Rahman v. Bell, 537 U.S. 88	November 6, 2002	December 10, 2002
Borden Ranch Partnership v. Army Corps of Engineers, 537 U.S. 99		December 16, 2002
Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania, 537 U.S. 101	November 4, 2002	January 14, 2003			*	*	*
Pierce County v. Guillen, 537 U.S. 129	November 4, 2002	January 14, 2003
Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co. Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co. Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co., 537 U.S. 149 , was a Supreme Court of the United States case.* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 537*List of United States Supreme Court cases... , 537 U.S. 149	October 8, 2002	January 15, 2003			1	1			1 2
Eldred v. Ashcroft Eldred v. Ashcroft Eldred v. Ashcroft, was a court case in the United States challenging the constitutionality of the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act... , 537 U.S. 186	October 9, 2002	January 15, 2003		1							2
United States v. Jimenez Recio, 537 U.S. 270	November 12, 2002	January 21, 2003
Meyer v. Holley, 537 U.S. 280	December 3, 2002	January 22, 2003
FCC v. NextWave Personal Communications, Inc., 537 U.S. 293	October 8, 2002	January 27, 2003		*
Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322	October 16, 2002	February 25, 2003
Washington State Dept. of Social and Health Servs. v. Keffeler, 537 U.S. 371	December 3, 2002	February 25, 2003
Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. NOW v. Scheidler, 547 U.S. 9 , was a lengthy and high-profile U.S. legal case interpreting and applying the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act : a law originally drafted to combat the mafia and organized crime, the Hobbs Act: an anti-extortion law prohibiting interference... , 537 U.S. 393	December 4, 2002	February 26, 2003
Moseley v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc., 537 U.S. 418	November 12, 2002	March 4, 2003				*
Boeing Co. v. United States, 537 U.S. 437	December 9, 2002	March 4, 2003
United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe, 537 U.S. 465 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that when the federal government used land or property held in trust for an Indian tribe, it had the duty to maintain that land or property and was liable for any damages for... , 537 U.S. 465	December 2, 2002	March 4, 2003
United States v. Navajo Nation United States v. Navajo Nation United States v. Navajo Nation is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Navajo Nation initiated proceedings in the Court of Federal Claims alleging that when they sought the assistance of the United States Secretary of the Interior to renegotiate their original leasing agreement with the... , 537 U.S. 488	December 2, 2002	March 4, 2003
Clay v. United States Clay v. United States Clay v. United States, , was boxer Muhammad Ali's appeal of his conviction for refusing to report for induction into the United States military forces during the Vietnam War. His local draft board had rejected his application for conscientious objector classification... , 537 U.S. 522	January 13, 2003	March 4, 2003
Connecticut Dept. of Public Safety v. Doe Connecticut Dept. of Public Safety v. Doe Connecticut Dept. of Public Safety v. Doe, 538 U.S. 1 , was a case before the United States Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the Connecticut sex offender registration requirement which required public disclosure of information on sex offenders after they had been released from... , 538 U.S. 1	November 13, 2002	March 5, 2003		1		2		3		3
Ewing v. California Ewing v. California Ewing v. California, , is one of two cases upholding a sentence imposed under California's three strikes law against a challenge that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. As in its prior decision in Harmelin v. Michigan, , the Court could not agree on... , 538 U.S. 11	November 5, 2002	March 5, 2003		1 2	*	1		1 2	2	1 2	1 2
Lockyer v. Andrade Lockyer v. Andrade Lockyer v. Andrade, , decided the same day as Ewing v. California, held that there would be no relief by means of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus from a sentence imposed under California's three strikes law as a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual... , 538 U.S. 63	November 5, 2002	March 5, 2003
Smith v. Doe Smith v. Doe Smith v. Doe, , was a court case in the United States which questioned the constitutionality of the Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act's retroactive requirements. Under the Act, any sex offender must register with the Department of Corrections or local law enforcement within one business day of... , 538 U.S. 84	November 13, 2002	March 5, 2003		1				1	2	2	2
Cook County v. United States ex rel Chandler, 538 U.S. 119	January 14, 2003	March 10, 2003
Norfolk & Western R. Co. v. Ayers, 538 U.S. 135	November 6, 2002	March 10, 2003	* 1		* 1		* 1				* 1 2
Cuyahoga Falls v. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, 538 U.S. 188	January 21, 2003	March 25, 2003
Woodford v. Garceau, 538 U.S. 202	January 21, 2003	March 25, 2003
Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington, 538 U.S. 216	December 9, 2002	March 26, 2003	1			1	1 2		1
Branch v. Smith, 538 U.S. 254	December 10, 2002	March 31, 2003		* 1 2*	*	*	2	* 1 2*	* *		* 1 2*
Archer v. Warner, 538 U.S. 314	January 13, 2003	March 31, 2003
Kentucky Assn. of Health Plans, Inc. v. Miller, 538 U.S. 329	January 14, 2003	April 2, 2003
Virginia v. Black Virginia v. Black Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 , was a First Amendment case decided in the Supreme Court of the United States. Three defendants were convicted in two separate cases of violating a Virginia statute against cross burning. In this case, the Court struck down that statute to the extent that it... , 538 U.S. 343	December 11, 2002	April 7, 2003			*	* 1	2	2	1*	2
PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. v. Book, 538 U.S. 401	February 24, 2003	April 7, 2003
State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408	December 11, 2002	April 7, 2003				1			2	3
Clackamas Gastroenterology Associates, P.C. v. Wells, 538 U.S. 440	February 25, 2003	April 22, 2003
Jinks v. Richland County, 538 U.S. 456	March 5, 2003	April 22, 2003
Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson, 538 U.S. 468	January 22, 2003	April, 2003			*						*
Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt, 538 U.S. 488	February 24, 2003	April 23, 2003
Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500	February 25, 2003	April 23, 2003
Demore v. Kim, 538 U.S. 510	January 15, 2003	April 29, 2003		* 1	* 1	* 1	2	* 1	* 1	* 1	* 2
Roell v. Withrow, 538 U.S. 580	February 26, 2003	April 29, 2003
Illinois ex rel. Madigan v. Telemarketing Assoc., Inc., 538 U.S. 600	March 3, 2003	May 5, 2003
Kaupp v. Texas, 538 U.S. 626		May 5, 2003
Price v. Vincent, 538 U.S. 634	April 21, 2003	May 19, 2003
Pharmaceutical Research and Mfrs. of America v. Walsh, 538 U.S. 644	January 22, 2003	May 19, 2003	*	*	*	1	*		2		* 3
Breuer v. Jim's Concrete of Brevard, Inc., 538 U.S. 691	April 2, 2003	May 19, 2003
Inyo County v. Pauite-Shoshone Indians, 538 U.S. 701	March 31, 2003	May 19, 2003
Los Angeles v. David, 538 U.S. 715		May 19, 2003
Nevada Dept. of Human Resources v. Hibbs, 538 U.S. 721	January 15, 2003	May 27, 2003		1		1 2	2	2	2	2	2
Chavez v. Martinez, 538 U.S. 760	December 4, 2002	May 27, 2003	1	2* 1 2	1*	1*	2* 2	2*	1*	2* 2* 3	2
National Park Hospitality Assn. v. Department of Interior, 538 U.S. 803	March 4, 2003	May 27, 2003
Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord, 538 U.S. 822	April 28, 2003	May 27, 2003
Bunkley v. Florida, 538 U.S. 835		May 27, 2003
Beneficial National Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1	April 30, 2003	June 2, 2003
Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 539 U.S. 23 , was a copyright and trademark case of the Supreme Court of the United States involving the applicability of the Lanham Act to a work in the public domain.-Background:... , 539 U.S. 23	April 2, 2003	June 2, 2003
Entergy La., Inc. v. Louisiana Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 539 U.S. 39	April 2, 2003	June 2, 2003
Citizens Bank v. Alafabco, Inc., 539 U.S. 52		June 2, 2003
Hillside Dairy, Inc. v. Lyons, 539 U.S. 59	April 22, 2003	June 9, 2003							*
Nguyen v. United States, 539 U.S. 69	March 24, 2003	June 9, 2003
Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa, 539 U.S. 90	April 23, 2003	June 9, 2003
Fitzgerald v. Racing Association of Central Iowa, 539 U.S. 103	April 29, 2003	June 9, 2003
Dow Chemical Co. v. Stephenson, 539 U.S. 111	February 26, 2003	June 9, 2003
Virginia v. Hicks, 539 U.S. 113	April 30, 2003	June 16, 2003
Overton v. Bazzetta, 539 U.S. 126	March 26, 2003	June 16, 2003		1		2		1	2	1	1
Federal Election Commission v. Beaumont, 539 U.S. 146	March 25, 2003	June 16, 2003
Sell v. United States Sell v. United States Sell v. United States, is a landmark decision in which the United States Supreme Court imposed stringent limits on the right of a lower court to order the forcible administration of antipsychotic medication to a criminal defendant who had been determined to be incompetent to stand trial for the... , 539 U.S. 166	March 3, 2003	June 16, 2003
United States v. American Library Association, Inc., 539 U.S. 194	March 5, 2003	June 23, 2003	*	1			1	2		2	2
Gratz v. Bollinger Gratz v. Bollinger Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244 , was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the University of Michigan undergraduate affirmative action admissions policy... , 539 U.S. 244	April 1, 2003	June 23, 2003		1	1			1 2 3	2	2* 3	1* 3 3*
Grutter v. Bollinger Grutter v. Bollinger Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School... , 539 U.S. 306	April 1, 2003	June 23, 2003	1			* 1 2* 1	1 2		* 1 2 1
American Insurance Association v. Garamendi American Insurance Association v. Garamendi American Insurance Association v. Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated a California law that required any insurance company wishing to do business in the state to publish information regarding insurance policies held by persons in Europe... , 539 U.S. 296	April 23, 2003	June 23, 2003
Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle, 539 U.S. 444	April 22, 2003	June 23, 2003	1		1		1		2		*
Georgia v. Ashcroft Georgia v. Ashcroft Georgia v. Ashcroft, , is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court found that a three-judge federal district court panel did not consider all of the requisite relevant factors when it examined whether the 2001 Georgia senate redistricting plan resulted in retrogression of black voters’... , 539 U.S. 461	April 29, 2003	June 26, 2003					1		2
Wiggins v. Smith Wiggins v. Smith Wiggins v. Smith, is a case in which the United States Supreme Court spelled out standards for "effectiveness" in the constitutional right to legal counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment... , 539 U.S. 510	March 24, 2003	June 26, 2003
Lawrence v. Texas Lawrence v. Texas Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court case. In the 6-3 ruling, the Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas and, by proxy, invalidated sodomy laws in the thirteen other states where they remained in existence, thereby making same-sex sexual activity legal in... , 539 U.S. 558	March 26, 2003	June 26, 2003	1			1			1 2
Stogner v. California Stogner v. California Stogner v. California, is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which held that California's retroactive extension of the statute of limitations for sexual offenses committed against minors was an unconstitutional ex post facto law.... , 539 U.S. 607	March 31, 2003	June 26, 2003
Nike, Inc. v. Klasky, 539 U.S. 654	April 23, 2003	June 26, 2003			2		1	*			2
Case name	Argued	Decided	Rehnquist	Stevens	O'Connor	Scalia	Kennedy	Souter	Thomas	Ginsburg	Breyer

2002 term membership and statistics

This was the seventeenth term of Chief Justice Rehnquist's tenure, and the ninth consecutive term in which the Court's membership had not changed.

Justice	Appointed by	Date confirmed	% Majority	Opinions filed
Chief Justice Chief Justice of the United States The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...  William H. Rehnquist	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....  (as Chief Justice) Richard M. Nixon (as Associate Justice)	September 26, 1986 (CJ) January 7, 1972 (AJ)	88.0%	8 0 0 4 Total=12
Associate Justice Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...  John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...	Gerald Ford Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...	December 19, 1975.	78.0%	9 11 3 7 Total=30
Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....	September 25, 1981	87.8%	9 6 2 0 Total=17
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...	Ronald Reagan	September 26, 1986	79.5%	8 7 2 8 Total=25
Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy Anthony Kennedy Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...	Ronald Reagan	February 18, 1988	84.1%	7 6 2 5 Total=20
Associate Justice David Souter David Souter David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...	George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...	October 9, 1990	88.0%	9 5 2 6 Total=22
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....	George H. W. Bush	October 23, 1991	73.2%	7 7 2 11 Total=27
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...	Bill Clinton Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...	August 10, 1993	81.9%	7 3 1 6 Total=17
Associate Justice Stephen Breyer Stephen Breyer Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....	Bill Clinton	August 3, 1994	80.5%	8 3 3 5 Total=19
Notes on statistics: A justice is only included in the majority if they joined or concurred in the Court's judgment in full. Percentages are based only on the cases in which a justice participated, and are rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. The opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders and in-chambers opinions are not included.