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William Johnson
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
In office May 7, 1804 – August 4, 1834
Nominated by	Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	Alfred Moore
Succeeded by	James Moore Wayne
Born	December 17 or 27, 1771 Charleston, South Carolina
Died	August 11, 1834 New York, New York

William Johnson (December 17 or December 27, 1771 - August 11, 1834) was a state legislator and judge in South Carolina, and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1804 to his death in 1834.

Johnson was born in Charleston. His father, William Johnson, was a revolutionary, and represented Charleston in the general assembly of South Carolina. The younger Johnson studied law at Princeton and graduated in 1790. He studied in the law office of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney before passing the bar in 1793. In 1794, he married Sarah Bennett.

Johnson followed in his father's footsteps, representing the city of Charleston (and the nascent Republican party) in the state's house of representatives from 1794-1798. In 1796, he was selected as the speaker of the state house. In 1798, the formation of the state's highest court created a demand for judges, and Johnson was one of those selected to the position.

Johnson was appointed an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court by Thomas Jefferson in 1804, as the successor of Alfred Moore. He was the first of Jefferson's three appointments to the court, and is considered to have been selected for sharing many of Jefferson's beliefs about the Constitution.

In his years on the Court, Johnson proved to be a very independent mind - while the Chief Justice, John Marshall, was able to steer the opinions of most of the justices in most cases, Johnson developed a reputation for dissent. Johnson's independence was further displayed in 1808 when he defied the orders of the collector of the port of Charleston, the United States Attorney General Caesar A. Rodney, and President Thomas Jefferson (the very man who had nominated Johnson to his position), because he felt that the executive branch's control of maritime trade was an overextension of its constitutional powers. Much later in his service on the court, during the Nullification Crisis in South Carolina from 1831-1833, Johnson again displayed his desire for independent thought by moving away from his residence in South Carolina, so as not to be swayed by the intensity of public opinion there.

Johnson died in 1834 in New York after surgery on his jaw.

• A Cyclopedia biography of Johnson from the late 1800s
• A very brief online biography
• William Johnson on Find-A-Grave

The Supreme Court of the United States
The Marshall Court
1804–1806:	Wm. Cushing | Wm. Paterson | S. Chase | B. Washington | Wm. Johnson
1807–1810:	Wm. Cushing | S. Chase | B. Washington | Wm. Johnson | H.B. Livingston | Th. Todd
1810–1811:	S. Chase | B. Washington | Wm. Johnson | H.B. Livingston | Th. Todd
1811–1812:	B. Washington | Wm. Johnson | H.B. Livingston | Th. Todd | G. Duvall
1812–1823:	B. Washington | Wm. Johnson | H.B. Livingston | Th. Todd | G. Duvall | J. Story
1823–1826:	B. Washington | Wm. Johnson | Th. Todd | G. Duvall | J. Story | S. Thompson
1826–1828:	B. Washington | Wm. Johnson | G. Duvall | J. Story | S. Thompson | R. Trimble
1828–1829:	B. Washington | Wm. Johnson | G. Duvall | J. Story | S. Thompson
1830–1834:	Wm. Johnson | G. Duvall | J. Story | S. Thompson | J. McLean | H. Baldwin