Wheaton v. California
386 U.S. 267 · Decided March 13, 1967 · 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
Wheaton v. California was decided on March 13, 1967 by a vote of 8–1. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Self-incrimination (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 386 U.S. 267 · 87 S. Ct. 1015 · 18 L. Ed. 2d 37 · 1967 U.S. LEXIS 2042
- Docket number
- 46
- Decided
- March 13, 1967
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (no oral argument)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Self-incrimination (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Harmless error
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Wheaton v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 1966-064, docket 1966-064-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Self-incrimination (general)”
- Phillips et Vir v. California
- Chapman v. California
- Zuckerman v. Greason
- Kaye v. Co-Ordinating Committee on Discipline of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- Garrity v. New Jersey
- Spevack v. KleinAltered precedent
Cases on the same legal provision: Harmless error
- Anderson v. Nelson
- Fontaine v. California
- Harrington v. California
- Eichel v. New York Central Railroad Co.
- Milton v. Wainwright
- Moore v. United States
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Black v. United States
- Cichos v. Indiana
- O'Connor v. Ohio
- Lewis v. United States
- United States v. Fabrizio
- Hoffa v. United States
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