diff --git a/src/pkg/encoding/json/stream.go b/src/pkg/encoding/json/stream.go
index 1cb289fd84..9566ecadcb 100644
--- a/src/pkg/encoding/json/stream.go
+++ b/src/pkg/encoding/json/stream.go
@@ -139,7 +139,6 @@ func nonSpace(b []byte) bool {
 // An Encoder writes JSON objects to an output stream.
 type Encoder struct {
 	w   io.Writer
-	e   encodeState
 	err error
 }