Supreme Court of the United States, 1976

Sparks v. North Carolina

Supreme Court of the United States · Decided July 6, 1976 · Cases, Certiorari

428 U.S. 905; 96 S. Ct. 3213; 49 L. Ed. 2d 1212; 1976 U.S. LEXIS 2265 (United States Reports)

Cases that cite this one

90 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.

James Lewis Cole v. L. v. Stevenson, Superintendent and Attorney General of the State of North Carolina, Rufus L. Edmisten (4th Cir. 1980)
Commonwealth v. Moody (Pa. 1977)
Bush v. Stephenson (District Court, E.D. North Carolina 1986)
Shuman v. Wolff (District Court, D. Nevada 1983)
State v. McMillan (N.C. Ct. App. 1981)
State v. Morgan (N.C. 1980)
State v. Shaw (N.C. 1977)
State v. McZeal (La. 1977)
State v. Serigne (La. Ct. App. 2016)
State v. Shaffer (La. 2011)
State v. GRH (La. Ct. App. 2009)
State of Louisiana v. G. R. H. (La. Ct. App. 2009)
State v. Riley (N.C. Ct. App. 2003)
State v. Jones (N.C. 1996)
State v. Knight (N.C. 1995)
State v. Skipper (N.C. 1994)
Warren McCleskey Cross-Appellant v. Ralph Kemp, Warden, Cross-Appellee (11th Cir. 1985)
State v. Williams (N.C. 1983)
State v. Benton (N.C. 1980)
State v. Goodman (N.C. 1979)
Roberts v. Louisiana (Supreme Court of the United States 1977)
United States v. Peter Gaston Kaiser (5th Cir. 1977)
State v. Ross (La. 1977)
State v. Smith (La. 1976)
State v. Lee (La. 1976)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

Sup. Ct. N. C. Petitioners in these cases were sentenced *906to death. Imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in these cases constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Woodson v. North Carolina, ante, p. 280. Motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis in No. 75-5697 granted. Certiorari granted, judgments vacated, and cases remanded to the Supreme Court of North Carolina for further proceedings in light of Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U. S. 684 (1975).

Mr. Justice Brennan would grant certiorari and set cases for oral argument.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.