Johnston v. United States
351 U.S. 215 · Decided May 21, 1956 · 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
Johnston v. United States was decided on May 21, 1956 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Stanley F. Reed wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Conscientious objectors” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 351 U.S. 215 · 76 S. Ct. 739 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 1097 · 1956 U.S. LEXIS 924
- Docket number
- 643
- Decided
- May 21, 1956
- Argued
- May 2, 1956
- 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
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Stanley F. Reed
- Opinion assigned by
- Stanley F. Reed
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Conscientious objectors
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Selective Service statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority |
Full case caption
Johnston et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1955-082, docket 1955-082-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Conscientious objectors”
- Witmer v. United States
- Sicurella v. United States
- Simmons v. United States
- Gonzales v. United States
- Dickinson v. United States
- United States v. Nugent
Cases on the same legal provision: Selective Service statutes
- McKinney v. Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Co.
- Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman
- Orloff v. Willoughby
- Robertson v. Chambers
- Oakley v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co.
- Aeronautical Industrial District Lodge 727 v. Campbell
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Pennsylvania v. Nelson
- Slochower v. Board of Higher Education of New York CityLaw held unconstitutional
- Communist Party of the United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board
- Cole v. Young
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