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Wolff v. McDonnell

418 U.S. 539 · Decided June 26, 1974 · 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

Wolff v. McDonnell was decided on June 26, 1974 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights” in the Due Process area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
418 U.S. 539 · 94 S. Ct. 2963 · 41 L. Ed. 2d 935 · 1974 U.S. LEXIS 91
Docket number
73-679
Decided
June 26, 1974
Argued
April 22, 1974
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
6–3
Majority opinion
Byron R. White
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Due Process
Legal provision
Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Wolff, Warden, et al. v. McDonnell

SCDB identifiers: case 1973-168, docket 1973-168-01.

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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