Tapia v. United States
Holding: 18 U.S.C. § 3582(a) does not permit a sentencing court to impose or lengthen a prison term to foster a defendant's rehabilitation.
Judgment: Ninth Circuit reversed, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan on June 16, 2011. Justice Sotomayor filed a concurring opinion, which was joined by Justice Alito.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: SRA prohibits rehabilitation through incarceration (Beth Neitzel, June 19, 2011)
- This week at the Court in Plain English (Lisa Tucker, June 17, 2011)
- Argument recap: Promoting rehabilitation through sentencing (Rani Gupta - Guest, April 21, 2011)
- Argument preview: “Recognizing†rehabilitation in sentencing (Jonathan Greenberger - Guest, April 15, 2011)
- Court grants 3 new cases (Lyle Denniston, December 10, 2010)
Briefs and Documents
Merit briefs
Certiorari-stage documents
