New Jersey v. Portash
Decided March 20, 1979. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 77-1489 · 440 U.S. 450 (1979) · Cited 393 times
Holding
Under the Fifth Amendment privilege against compulsory self-incrimination made binding on the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, respondent's testimony before the grand jury under a grant of immunity could not constitutionally be used against him in the later criminal trial.
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
- Potter Stewart · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- John Paul Stevens
Concurring · 4
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. · filed a concurring opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 2
- Harry Andrew Blackmun · filed a dissenting opinion
- Warren Earl Burger
“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.
- Brooks v. Tennessee · 406 U.S. 605 (1972)
- Harris v. New York · 401 U.S. 222 (1971)
- Oregon v. Hass · 420 U.S. 714 (1975)
- Kastigar v. United States · 406 U.S. 441 (1972)
- Laird v. Tatum · 408 U.S. 1 (1972)
- Doremus v. Board of Ed. of Hawthorne · 342 U.S. 429 (1952)
- Counselman v. Hitchcock · 142 U.S. 547 (1892)
- Jenkins v. Georgia · 418 U.S. 153 (1974)
- Raley v. Ohio · 360 U.S. 423 (1959)
- Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
- United States v. Calandra · 414 U.S. 338 (1974)
- Murphy v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor · 378 U.S. 52 (1964)
- Brown v. Walker · 161 U.S. 591 (1896)
- Mincey v. Arizona · 437 U.S. 385 (1978)
- Malloy v. Hogan · 378 U.S. 1 (1964)
- Whitney v. California · 274 U.S. 357 (1927)
- Walder v. United States · 347 U.S. 62 (1954)
- Wardius v. Oregon · 412 U.S. 470 (1973)
- Ullmann v. United States · 350 U.S. 422 (1956)
- Shapiro v. United States · 335 U.S. 1 (1948)
- Lefkowitz v. Newsome · 420 U.S. 283 (1975)
- Heike v. United States · 227 U.S. 131 (1913)
- Brown v. United States · 359 U.S. 41 (1959)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Luce v. United States · 469 U.S. 38 (1984)
- Arizona v. Fulminante · 499 U.S. 279 (1991)
- Michigan v. Harvey · 494 U.S. 344 (1990)
- United States v. Apfelbaum · 445 U.S. 115 (1980)
- Hemphill v. New York · 595 U.S. 140 (2022)
- Dickerson v. United States · 530 U.S. 428 (2000)
- United States v. Salvucci · 448 U.S. 83 (1980)
- New York v. Quarles · 467 U.S. 649 (1984)
- South Dakota v. Neville · 459 U.S. 553 (1983)
- McKune v. Lile · 536 U.S. 24 (2002)
- United States v. Patane · 542 U.S. 630 (2004)
- Burch v. Louisiana · 441 U.S. 130 (1979)
- Pillsbury Co. v. Conboy · 459 U.S. 248 (1983)
- Kansas v. Ventris · 556 U.S. 586 (2009)
- Baltimore City Department of Social Services v. Bouknight · 493 U.S. 549 (1990)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). 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).