Chapman v. California
386 U.S. 18 · Decided February 20, 1967 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Chapman v. California was decided on February 20, 1967 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Self-incrimination (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 386 U.S. 18 · 87 S. Ct. 824 · 17 L. Ed. 2d 705 · 1967 U.S. LEXIS 2198
- Docket number
- 95
- Decided
- February 20, 1967
- Argued
- December 7, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Self-incrimination (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Harmless error
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Chapman et al. v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 1966-052, docket 1966-052-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Self-incrimination (general)”
- Zuckerman v. Greason
- Kaye v. Co-Ordinating Committee on Discipline of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- Phillips et Vir v. California
- Wheaton v. California
- Garrity v. New Jersey
- Spevack v. KleinAltered precedent
Cases on the same legal provision: Harmless error
- Anderson v. Nelson
- Fontaine v. California
- Harrington v. California
- Eichel v. New York Central Railroad Co.
- Milton v. Wainwright
- Moore v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Black v. United States
- Cichos v. Indiana
- O'Connor v. Ohio
- Lewis v. United States
- United States v. Fabrizio
- Hoffa v. United States
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error