Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen v. Chicago
393 U.S. 129 · Decided November 18, 1968 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen v. Chicago was decided on November 18, 1968 by a vote of 7–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, public utilities” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 393 U.S. 129 · 89 S. Ct. 323 · 21 L. Ed. 2d 289 · 1968 U.S. LEXIS 3043
- Docket number
- 16
- Decided
- November 18, 1968
- Argued
- October 22, 1968
- 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
- 7–1
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- National supremacy, public utilities
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority |
Did not participate: Abe Fortas.
Full case caption
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen et al. v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Co. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1968-013, docket 1968-013-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “National supremacy, public utilities”
- City of Tacoma v. Taxpayers of Tacoma
- City of Chicago v. AtchisonLaw held unconstitutional
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Mississippi
- Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. v. Michigan Public Service Commission
- Regents of the University System of Georgia v. Carroll
- Verizon Md. Inc. v. Public Service Comm'n of Md.
Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)
- Dunbar-Stanley Studios, Inc. v. Alabama
- Maryland v. Wirtz
- Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of the State of IllinoisLaw held unconstitutional
- Perez v. United States
- Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. v. Hostetter
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- United States v. Louisiana
- United States v. Louisiana
- Utah v. United States
- United States v. Louisiana
- Sullivan v. United States
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