Home > Great American Court Cases > Robinson v. California

Legal Citation: 370 U.S. 660 (1962)

Petitioner
Lawrence Robinson

Respondent
State of California

Petitioner's Claim
That the state violated his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, which protect him from cruel and unusual punishment, because the state of California sentenced him to 90 days in jail for having a drug addiction.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
S. Carter McMorris

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
William E. Doran

Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, John Marshall Harlan II, Potter Stewart (writing for the Court), Earl Warren

Justices Dissenting
Tom C. Clark, Byron R. White (Felix Frankfurter did not participate)

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
25 June 1962

Decision
The Court decided to...