Jones v. United States

Decided June 29, 1983. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-5195 · 463 U.S. 354 (1983) · Cited 741 times

Holding

When a criminal defendant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that he is not guilty of a crime by reason of insanity, the Constitution permits the Government, on the basis of the insanity judgment, to confine him to a mental institution until such time as he has regained his sanity or is no longer a danger to himself or society.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Addington v. Texas · 441 U.S. 418 (1979)
• O'Connor v. Donaldson · 422 U.S. 563 (1975)
• Humphrey v. Cady · 405 U.S. 504 (1972)
• Baxstrom v. Herold · 383 U.S. 107 (1966)
• Jackson v. Indiana · 406 U.S. 715 (1972)
• McNeil v. Director, Patuxent Institution · 407 U.S. 245 (1972)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Vitek v. Jones · 445 U.S. 480 (1980)
• Leland v. Oregon · 343 U.S. 790 (1952)
• Powell v. Texas · 392 U.S. 514 (1968)
• Lynch v. Overholser · 369 U.S. 705 (1962)
• Marshall v. United States · 414 U.S. 417 (1974)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Santosky v. Kramer · 455 U.S. 745 (1982)
• Gregg v. Georgia · 428 U.S. 153 (1976)
• Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• Mullaney v. Wilbur · 421 U.S. 684 (1975)
• Williams v. New York · 337 U.S. 241 (1949)
• Youngberg v. Romeo Ex Rel. Romeo · 457 U.S. 307 (1982)
• Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez · 372 U.S. 144 (1963)
• Bell v. Burson · 402 U.S. 535 (1971)
• Estelle v. Smith · 451 U.S. 454 (1981)
• Bearden v. Georgia · 461 U.S. 660 (1983)
• Parham v. J. R. · 442 U.S. 584 (1979)
• Specht v. Patterson · 386 U.S. 605 (1967)
• Davis v. United States · 160 U.S. 469 (1895)
• Greenwood v. United States · 350 U.S. 366 (1956)
• Mills v. Rogers · 457 U.S. 291 (1982)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Foucha v. Louisiana · 504 U.S. 71 (1992)
• Kansas v. Hendricks · 521 U.S. 346 (1997)
• Clark v. Arizona · 548 U.S. 735 (2006)
• Gonzales v. Carhart · 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
• Atkins v. Virginia · 536 U.S. 304 (2002)
• Hamdi v. Rumsfeld · 542 U.S. 507 (2004)
• Chapman v. United States · 500 U.S. 453 (1991)
• Kansas v. Crane · 534 U.S. 407 (2002)
• Ortiz v. United States · 585 U.S. 427 (2018)
• City of Grants Pass v. Johnson · 603 U.S. 520 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1983). 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).