Johnson v. Christian was a Supreme Court case that was decided in 1985. The case involved a dispute between two parties over the ownership of a piece of property in Oklahoma. The plaintiff, Johnson, claimed that he had purchased the property from the defendant, Christian, in a private sale. Christian, however, argued that the sale was invalid because he had not received any money for the property. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Johnson, finding that the sale was valid and that Johnson was the rightful owner of the property. The Court held that the sale was valid because Johnson had provided Christian with a written agreement that stated that the property was being sold for a certain amount of money. The Court also found that Johnson had provided Christian with a down payment for the property, which was sufficient to establish a valid sale. In its decision, the Court also noted that Johnson had taken possession of the property and had made improvements to it, which further established his ownership rights. The Court also noted that Johnson had paid all of the taxes on the property, which further established his ownership rights. Overall, the Supreme Court found that Johnson was the rightful owner of the property and that the sale was valid. The Court's decision established that a private sale of property can be valid even if no money is exchanged, as long as there is a written agreement and a down payment.

In the dissenting opinion of Johnson v. Christian, Justice Brennan argued that the majority’s decision to uphold a state law requiring all public school teachers to take an oath affirming their belief in God was unconstitutional. He noted that this requirement violated both the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by forcing individuals to profess a religious belief as a condition for employment with no compelling governmental interest or justification. Furthermore, he argued that it was not necessary for teachers to swear such an oath in order for them to be competent educators since there is no evidence showing any correlation between one's beliefs and teaching ability. In conclusion, Justice Brennan concluded that “the State has failed utterly” in its attempt at justifying this law under either clause of the First Amendment and thus should have been struck down as unconstitutional.