Johnson v. United States (1948 Fourth Amendment case)

Johnson v. United States
Argued December 18, 1947
Decided February 2, 1948
Full case nameJohnson v. United States
Citations333 U.S. 10 (more)
68 S. Ct. 367; 92 L. Ed. 2d 436
Holding
As a general rule, the question when the right of privacy must reasonably yield to the right of search must be decided by a judicial officer, not by a policeman or government enforcement agent.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Fred M. Vinson
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · Stanley F. Reed
Felix Frankfurter · William O. Douglas
Frank Murphy · Robert H. Jackson
Wiley B. Rutledge · Harold H. Burton
Case opinions
MajorityJackson, joined by Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, and Rutledge
DissentVinson
DissentBlack
DissentReed
DissentBurton
Laws applied
U.S. Const. Amend. IV

Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10 (1948), was a significant United States Supreme Court decision addressing search warrants and the Fourth Amendment. In this case, where federal agents had probable cause to search a hotel room but did not obtain a warrant, the Court declared the search was "unreasonable."

Johnson is commonly cited for the proposition that the Fourth Amendment creates a "warrant requirement" for searches, and warrantless searches are "per se unreasonable."