Washington v. Walter Harper
494 U.S. 210 · Decided February 27, 1990 · 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
Washington v. Walter Harper was decided on February 27, 1990 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights” in the Due Process area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 494 U.S. 210 · 110 S. Ct. 1028 · 108 L. Ed. 2d 178 · 1990 U.S. LEXIS 1174
- Docket number
- 88-599
- Decided
- February 27, 1990
- Argued
- October 11, 1989
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights
- Issue area
- Due Process
- Legal provision
- Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Washington, et al. v. Walter Harper
SCDB identifiers: case 1989-038, docket 1989-038-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Due process, prisoners' and defendants' rights”
- Michael Owen Perry v. Louisiana
- Kentucky Department of Corrections v. Thompson
- John H. McCarthy v. Bronson
- Robert C. Rufo v. Inmates of the Suffolk County Jail
- Board of Pardons v. Allen
- United States v. Salerno
Cases on the same legal provision: Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- United States Department of Labor v. Triplett
- Holland v. Illinois
- Fw/pbs, Inc. v. City of DallasLaw held unconstitutional
- Franchise Tax Board of California v. Alcan Aluminium Ltd.
- Whitmore v. Arkansas
- United States v. Montalvo-Murillo
Same Term, same area (Due Process)
- United States v. Sperry Corporation
- J. Paul Preseault v. Interstate Commerce Commission
- Burnham v. Superior Court of California
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