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Jones v. Wolf

443 U.S. 595 · Decided July 2, 1979 · 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

Jones v. Wolf was decided on July 2, 1979 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
443 U.S. 595 · 99 S. Ct. 3020 · 61 L. Ed. 2d 775 · 1979 U.S. LEXIS 16
Docket number
78-91
Decided
July 2, 1979
Argued
January 16, 1979
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–4
Majority opinion
Harry A. Blackmun
Opinion assigned by
William J. Brennan Jr.
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
First Amendment
Legal provision
First Amendment (free exercise of religion)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Jones et al. v. Wolf et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1978-157, docket 1978-157-01.

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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