Zant v. Stephens

Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862 (1983), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that aggravating circumstances in the death penalty context must meaningfully narrow the number of people eligible for the death penalty. As long as a defendant does have an aggravating circumstance, it does not matter if the one actually cited to justify the death penalty in their case is set aside.^[1][2]

Zant v. Stephens
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided June 22, 1983
Full case name	Zant v. Stephens
Citations	462 U.S. 862 (more)
Holding
Aggravating circumstances in the death penalty context must meaningfully narrow the number of people eligible for the death penalty. As long as a defendant does have an aggravating circumstance, it does not matter if the one actually cited to justify the death penalty in their case is set aside.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinions
Majority	Stevens
Concurrence	Rehnquist (in judgment)
Concur/dissent	White
Dissent	Marshall, joined by Brennan