Wolff, Warden, et al. v. McDonnell

Decided June 26, 1974. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-679 · 418 U.S. 539 (1974) · Cited 12,327 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 6–3.

“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.

• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Johnson v. Avery · 393 U.S. 483 (1969)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Gagnon v. Scarpelli · 411 U.S. 778 (1973)
• Arnett v. Kennedy · 416 U.S. 134 (1974)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Haines v. Kerner · 404 U.S. 519 (1972)
• Davis v. Alaska · 415 U.S. 308 (1974)
• Procunier v. Martinez · 416 U.S. 396 (1974)
• Greene v. McElroy · 360 U.S. 474 (1959)
• Chambers v. Mississippi · 410 U.S. 284 (1973)
• In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Cruz v. Beto · 405 U.S. 319 (1972)
• Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union, Local 473 v. McElroy · 367 U.S. 886 (1961)
• Bell v. Burson · 402 U.S. 535 (1971)
• Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath · 341 U.S. 123 (1951)
• WILWORDING Et Al. v. SWENSON, WARDEN · 404 U.S. 249 (1971)
• Ex Parte Hull · 312 U.S. 546 (1941)
• Younger v. Gilmore · 404 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Stanley v. Illinois · 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• Pointer v. Texas · 380 U.S. 400 (1965)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Fuentes v. Shevin · 407 U.S. 67 (1972)
• Roviaro v. United States · 353 U.S. 53 (1957)
• Washington v. Texas · 388 U.S. 14 (1967)
• In Re Oliver · 333 U.S. 257 (1948)
• Screws v. United States · 325 U.S. 91 (1945)
• Parker v. Levy · 417 U.S. 733 (1974)

Cited by

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

• Ponte v. Real · 471 U.S. 491 (1985)
• Sandin v. Conner · 515 U.S. 472 (1995)
• Hewitt v. Helms · 459 U.S. 460 (1983)
• Baxter v. Palmigiano · 425 U.S. 308 (1976)
• Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex · 442 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Hudson v. Palmer · 468 U.S. 517 (1984)
• Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Institution at Walpole v. Hill · 472 U.S. 445 (1985)
• Wilkinson v. Dotson · 544 U.S. 74 (2005)
• Kerry v. Din · 576 U.S. 86 (2015)
• Bounds v. Smith · 430 U.S. 817 (1977)
• Vitek v. Jones · 445 U.S. 480 (1980)
• Heck v. Humphrey · 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• Meachum v. Fano · 427 U.S. 215 (1976)
• Cleavinger v. Saxner · 474 U.S. 193 (1985)
• Lewis v. Casey · 518 U.S. 343 (1996)
• Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat · 452 U.S. 458 (1981)
• Edwards v. Balisok · 520 U.S. 641 (1997)
• Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners' Labor Union, Inc. · 433 U.S. 119 (1977)
• Kentucky Department of Corrections v. Thompson · 490 U.S. 454 (1989)
• United States v. Ramsey · 431 U.S. 606 (1977)
• Daniels v. Williams · 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
• Hughes v. Rowe · 449 U.S. 5 (1980)
• Olim v. Wakinekona · 461 U.S. 238 (1983)
• Wilkinson v. Austin · 545 U.S. 209 (2005)
• Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform · 431 U.S. 816 (1977)
• District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne · 557 U.S. 52 (2009)
• Black v. Romano · 471 U.S. 606 (1985)
• Zinermon v. Burch · 494 U.S. 113 (1990)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)

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).