United States v. John H. Williams, Jr.
504 U.S. 36 · Decided May 4, 1992 · 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
United States v. John H. Williams, Jr. was decided on May 4, 1992 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Subconstitutional fair procedure, evidence presentation or sufficiency” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 504 U.S. 36 · 112 S. Ct. 1735 · 118 L. Ed. 2d 352 · 1992 U.S. LEXIS 2688
- Docket number
- 90-1972
- Decided
- May 4, 1992
- Argued
- January 22, 1992
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent |
Full case caption
United States v. John H. Williams, Jr.
SCDB identifiers: case 1991-068, docket 1991-068-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Subconstitutional fair procedure, evidence presentation or sufficiency”
- United States v. Anthony Salerno
- Johnny Lynn Old Chief v. United States
- Carchman v. Nash
- Boag v. Macdougall
- Cuyler v. Adams
- Moises Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Alejandro Garcia Ibarra
- Wayne Estelle v. Mark Owen McGuire
- Guy Wooddell, Jr. v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
- In re James Blodgett
- Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Joseph Patrick Doherty
- Randall D. White v. Illinois
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