Bernhardt v. Polygraphic Company of America, Inc.
350 U.S. 198 · Decided January 6, 1956 · 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
Bernhardt v. Polygraphic Company of America, Inc. was decided on January 6, 1956 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Arbitration (non-labor)” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 350 U.S. 198 · 76 S. Ct. 273 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 199 · 1956 U.S. LEXIS 1487
- Docket number
- 49
- Decided
- January 6, 1956
- Argued
- December 5, 1955
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Arbitration (non-labor)
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 9 U.S.C. § 1
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Bernhardt v. Polygraphic Company of America, Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 1955-020, docket 1955-020-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Arbitration (non-labor)”
- Moseley v. Electronic & Missile Facilities, Inc.
- Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co.
- Commonwealth Coatings Corp. v. Continental Casualty Co.
- Southland Corp. v. Keating
- Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd
- Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co.
Cases on the same legal provision: 9 U.S.C. § 1
- Scherk v. Alberto-Culver Co.
- Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
- Allied-Bruce Terminix Companies, Inc. v. G. Michael Dobson
- Antonio Mastrobuono and Diana G. Mastrobuono v. Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc.
- Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Saint Clair Adams
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House, Inc.
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Williams v. United States.
- Liquid Carbonic Corp. v. United States
- Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. United States
- Neese v. Southern Railway Co.
- Ryan Stevedoring Co., Inc. v. Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corp.
- Shields v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co.
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