Case Citator › McMillan v. Pennsylvania

McMillan v. Pennsylvania

Is it still good law? What later courts have actually done to this case.

Overruled
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Citation
477 U.S. 79
Decided
Confirmed treatments
2
Flagged citations read
211 of 213
Citing cases (total)
1,907
Treatment dates
2010–2013
Overruled
A reviewed court has overruled this case. McMillan v. Pennsylvania was overruled: 211 of the 213 flagged citations were read; the text of the other 2 could not be retrieved, and the 2 confirmed treatments are listed below. United States v. Krieger questioned whether McMillan's mandatory-minimum rule could be reconciled with Apprendi v. New Jersey while continuing to follow it as binding precedent.
More on how this was screened

Alleyne v. United States then overruled McMillan's holding that a fact increasing a mandatory minimum could be found by a judge under the preponderance standard. The other readable opinions applied McMillan before Alleyne, rejected arguments that earlier cases had displaced it, reported Alleyne's later act, or used nearby adverse language for unrelated precedents and rulings.

The treatments below are confirmed; unread citations could still change the overall status.
Every treatment on this page is written from the citing opinion itself, with a verbatim quote, never copied from a commercial citator. A citation flagged by our screen but not shown here was read and found not to weaken this case, except the ones whose text could not be retrieved.

1,907 later cases cite McMillan v. Pennsylvania; 213 of those citations sat close to treatment language and were flagged for reading; 211 of them have been read, and the text of 2 citing opinions could not be retrieved, so those remain unread. Citations that did not sit near treatment language were not flagged and were not read one by one, so a court that weakened this case without using any of that language would not appear here.

Relying on McMillan v. Pennsylvania?

This page shows what later courts did to it. Ask about your specific facts and see whether it still carries your argument, with citations you can check.

Treatments

Questioned

  • The Seventh Circuit questioned McMillan's compatibility with Apprendi and described its holding as hanging by a “precariously thin” thread, while continuing to follow it until the Supreme Court acted.

    United States v. Krieger · Seventh Circuit · filed

    The thread by which McMillan hangs may be precariously thin. ... In this respect, it is difficult to reconcile McMillan with Apprendi. McMillan, however, has not been overruled. And unless and until the Supreme Court explicitly overrules a case, we are bound by it.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Overruled

  • The Supreme Court overruled McMillan's rule permitting judges to find facts that increase mandatory minimum sentences, holding that those facts are elements for a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Alleyne v. United States · Supreme Court of the United States · filed

    The Court overrules McMillan and Harris because the reasoning of those decisions has been thoroughly undermined by intervening decisions and because no significant reliance interests are at stake that might justify adhering to their result.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

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