Henderson, Correctional Superintendent v. Morgan
Decided June 17, 1976. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 74-1529 · 426 U.S. 637 (1976) · Cited 1,382 times
Holding
Since respondent did not receive adequate notice of the offense to which he pleaded guilty, his plea was involuntary and the judgment of conviction was entered without due process of law.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 7–2.
Majority · 3
- John Paul Stevens · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 4
- Byron Raymond White · filed a concurring opinion
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Potter Stewart
Dissenting · 2
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · filed a dissenting opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- North Carolina v. Alford · 400 U.S. 25 (1970)
- McCarthy v. United States · 394 U.S. 459 (1969)
- Boykin v. Alabama · 395 U.S. 238 (1969)
- Smith v. O'GRADY · 312 U.S. 329 (1941)
- Brady v. United States · 397 U.S. 742 (1970)
- McMann v. Richardson · 397 U.S. 759 (1970)
- MacHibroda v. United States · 368 U.S. 487 (1962)
- Halliday v. United States · 394 U.S. 831 (1969)
- Kercheval v. United States · 274 U.S. 220 (1927)
- Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
- Tollett v. Henderson · 411 U.S. 258 (1973)
- Lefkowitz v. Newsome · 420 U.S. 283 (1975)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Marshall v. Lonberger · 459 U.S. 422 (1983)
- Bousley v. United States · 523 U.S. 614 (1998)
- Bradshaw v. Stumpf · 545 U.S. 175 (2005)
- Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes · 504 U.S. 1 (1992)
- Patterson v. Illinois · 487 U.S. 285 (1988)
- Mabry v. Johnson · 467 U.S. 504 (1984)
- Pope v. Illinois · 481 U.S. 497 (1987)
- Solem v. Stumes · 465 U.S. 638 (1984)
- Lane v. Williams · 455 U.S. 624 (1982)
- North v. Russell · 427 U.S. 328 (1976)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1976). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).