Skinner v. Switzer

Skinner v. Switzer
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 13, 2010 Decided March 7, 2011
Full case name	Henry W. Skinner v. Lynn Switzer, District Attorney
Docket no.	09-9000
Citations	562 U.S. 521 (more) 131 S. Ct. 1289; 179 L. Ed. 2d 233
Case history
Prior	Defendant conviction affirmed, 956 S.W.2d 532 (Tex. Crim. App., 1997); federal relief denied sub nom. Skinner v. Quarterman, 2007 WL 582808 (N.D. Tex., 2007); affirmed, 576 F.3d 214 (5th Cir., 2009); additional testing request under state law denied, 122 S.W.3d 808 (Tex. Crim. App., 2003); additional motion denied, 293 S.W.3d 196 (Tex. Crim. App., 2009); affirmed, 363 Fed.Appx. 302 (5th Cir., 2010); certiorari granted, 560 U.S. 924 (2010).
Holding
Because federal-court subject-matter jurisdiction existed over Skinner’s complaint, his claim was cognizable under §1983. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Case opinions
Majority	Ginsburg, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
Dissent	Thomas, joined by Kennedy, Alito

Skinner v. Switzer, 562 U.S. 521 (2011), is a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the route through which a prisoner may obtain biological DNA material for testing to challenge his conviction; whether through a civil rights suit or a habeas corpus petition. A majority of the Court held that the civil rights path was the appropriate path.