Brooks v. United States
337 U.S. 49 · Decided May 16, 1949 · 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
Brooks v. United States was decided on May 16, 1949 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Frank Murphy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 337 U.S. 49 · 69 S. Ct. 918 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 1200 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2402
- Docket number
- 388
- Decided
- May 16, 1949
- Argued
- March 2, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Frank Murphy
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative 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 | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Brooks v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-076, docket 1948-076-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- United States v. Wittek
- Farrell v. United States
- Larson v. Domestic and Foreign Commerce Corp.
- Fink v. Shepard Steamship Co.
- United States v. Spelar
- United States v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- Hubsch v. United States
- Gardner v. Panama Railroad Co.
- United States v. Brown
- Richards v. United States
- United States v. Hohri
- William McNeil v. United States
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Mandel Brothers, Inc. v. Wallace
- Ford Motor Co. v. United States
- Eckenrode v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
- Kordel v. United States
- United States v. Urbuteit
- Grand River Dam Authority v. Grand-Hydro
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