Healy v. James
408 U.S. 169 · Decided June 26, 1972 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Healy v. James was decided on June 26, 1972 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 408 U.S. 169 · 92 S. Ct. 2338 · 33 L. Ed. 2d 266 · 1972 U.S. LEXIS 160
- Docket number
- 71-452
- Decided
- June 26, 1972
- Argued
- March 28, 1972
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- First Amendment, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (association)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Healy et al. v. James et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1971-165, docket 1971-165-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”
- Laird v. Tatum
- Gravel v. United States
- Branzburg v. Hayes
- Lloyd Corp., Ltd. v. Tanner
- Flower v. United States
- Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (association)
- Rosario v. Rockefeller
- United Transportation Union v. State Bar of Michigan
- Baird v. State Bar of Arizona
- In re Stolar
- Kusper v. PontikesLaw held unconstitutional
- Schneider v. Smith
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Parisi v. Davidson
- Rabe v. Washington
- Cruz v. Beto
- Fein v. Selective Service System Local Board No. 7 of Yonkers
- Gooding v. WilsonLaw held unconstitutional
- Cole v. Richardson
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error