Johnson v. United States
352 U.S. 565 · Decided March 4, 1957 · 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. United States was decided on March 4, 1957 unanimously (8–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indigents, appointment of counsel” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 352 U.S. 565 · 77 S. Ct. 550 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 593 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 1224
- Docket number
- 531 M
- Decided
- March 4, 1957
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indigents, appointment of counsel
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 1915
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Johnson v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-053, docket 1956-053-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indigents, appointment of counsel”
- Willis v. United States
- Wilde v. Wyoming
- Douglas v. California
- Luckman v. Dunbar
- Holmes v. California
- Symons v. California
Cases on the same legal provision: 28 U.S.C. § 1915
- Roberts v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Neitzke v. Williams
- George F. Denton v. Mike Hernandez
- James Rowland v. California Men's Colony
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Brownell v. Tom We Shung
- United States v. Plesha
- Ceballos v. Shaughnessy
- United States ex Rel. Hintopoulos et Ux. v. Shaughnessy
- United States v. Witkovich
- Pennsylvania v. Board of Directors of City Trusts of the City of Philadelphia
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