Willner v. Committee on Character and Fitness, Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Judicial Department
Decided May 13, 1963. William Orville Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 140 · 373 U.S. 96 (1963) · Cited 400 times
We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.
How the Justices voted
Decided 7–2.
Majority · 4
- William Orville Douglas · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Earl Warren
- Hugo Lafayette Black
Concurring · 3
- Arthur Joseph Goldberg · filed a concurring opinion
- Potter Stewart
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Dissenting · 2
- John Marshall Harlan · filed a dissenting opinion
- Tom C. Clark
“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.
- Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union, Local 473 v. McElroy · 367 U.S. 886 (1961)
- Greene v. McElroy · 360 U.S. 474 (1959)
- Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners of NM · 353 U.S. 232 (1957)
- Morgan v. United States · 304 U.S. 1 (1938)
- Goldsmith v. United States Board of Tax Appeals · 270 U.S. 117 (1926)
- In Re Oliver · 333 U.S. 257 (1948)
- Ex Parte Garland · 71 U.S. 333 (1867)
- Lynumn v. Illinois · 372 U.S. 528 (1963)
- Gonzales v. United States · 348 U.S. 407 (1955)
- In Re Summers · 325 U.S. 561 (1945)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Arnett v. Kennedy · 416 U.S. 134 (1974)
- Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
- District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman · 460 U.S. 462 (1983)
- Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
- In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
- Pointer v. Texas · 380 U.S. 400 (1965)
- Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
- Jenkins v. McKeithen · 395 U.S. 411 (1969)
- Bell v. Burson · 402 U.S. 535 (1971)
- Texaco, Inc. v. Short · 454 U.S. 516 (1982)
- Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong · 426 U.S. 88 (1976)
- United States v. Florida East Coast Railway Co. · 410 U.S. 224 (1973)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).