Johnson et al. v. Mississippi et al.
Decided May 12, 1975. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 73-1531 · 421 U.S. 213 (1975) · Cited 438 times
Holding
Removal under 1443(1) was not warranted based solely on petitioners' allegations that the statutes underlying the charges were unconstitutional, that there was no basis in fact for those charges, or that their arrest and prosecution otherwise denied them their constitutional rights.
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 6–2.
Majority · 6
- Byron Raymond White · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Potter Stewart
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 2
- Thurgood Marshall · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
“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.
- City of Greenwood v. Peacock · 384 U.S. 808 (1966)
- Georgia v. Rachel · 384 U.S. 780 (1966)
- Hamm v. City of Rock Hill · 379 U.S. 306 (1964)
- Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
- Dombrowski v. Pfister · 380 U.S. 479 (1965)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1975). 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).