Johnson v. New Jersey
384 U.S. 719 · Decided June 20, 1966 · 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
Johnson v. New Jersey was decided on June 20, 1966 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Retroactivity of new rights” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 719 · 86 S. Ct. 1772 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 882 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 1127
- Docket number
- 762
- Decided
- June 20, 1966
- Argued
- March 1, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Earl Warren
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Retroactivity of new rights
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Retroactive application of a constitutional right
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Johnson et al. v. New Jersey
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-130, docket 1965-130-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Retroactivity of new rights”
- New Jersey v. Russo
- Tehan v. United States ex Rel. Shott
- Linkletter v. Walker
- Angelet v. Fay
- California v. Hurst.
- Roberts v. Russell
Cases on the same legal provision: Retroactive application of a constitutional right
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- First Security National Bank & Trust Co. of Lexington v. United States
- James v. Louisiana
- Harris v. United StatesAltered precedent
- Tehan v. United States ex Rel. Shott
- Baxstrom v. HeroldLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. Ewell
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