McCarthy v. Hernandez (608 U.S. 809)

The record

Term: 2025
Decided: Jun 22, 2026
Issue area: —
Vote split: —
Winning party: —
Decision direction: —
Chief Justice: —
Disposition: —
Docket: 25-748
U.S. Reports: 608 U.S. 809
S. Ct. citation: —
LEXIS citation: —
Opinion by: Per curiam

Holding

The Second Circuit exceeded its authority in holding that Hernandez is entitled to habeas relief under 28 U. S. C. §2254(d)(1); no clearly established federal law required the trial court to instruct the jury about the rule that Justice Kennedy adopted in Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U. S. 600, and the Second Circuit erred in holding otherwise.

Syllabus summary as published on the Supreme Court’s opinions list.

How the bench divided

No per-justice vote lineup was available for this case.

Read the opinion

Name, docket, decision date, citation, syllabus summary and opinion author are taken from the Court’s slip opinion for the 2025 term. No per-justice vote lineup was available for this case. Verify against the opinion before relying on it as legal authority.