Brown v. Western Railway of Alabama
338 U.S. 294 · Decided November 21, 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
Brown v. Western Railway of Alabama was decided on November 21, 1949 by a vote of 6–2. 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 “Sufficiency of evidence in injury or death compensation” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 338 U.S. 294 · 70 S. Ct. 105 · 94 L. Ed. 2d 100 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 1665
- Docket number
- 43
- Decided
- November 21, 1949
- Argued
- October 19, 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
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Hugo L. Black
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Employers' Liability Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: William O. Douglas.
Full case caption
Brown v. Western Railway of Alabama
SCDB identifiers: case 1949-012, docket 1949-012-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Sufficiency of evidence in injury or death compensation”
- Reynolds v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co.
- Wilkerson v. McCarthy
- Eckenrode v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
- O'Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc.
- Moore v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co.
- Anderson v. Atchison
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Employers' Liability Act
- Boyd v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company
- Carter v. Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railway Co.
- Affolder v. New York
- Kilpatrick v. Texas & Pacific Railway Co.
- Urie v. Thompson
- Desper v. Starved Rock Ferry Co.
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- United States v. Spelar
- Treichler v. WisconsinLaw held unconstitutional
- Faulkner v. Gibbs
- Reilly v. Pinkus
- United States v. Capital Transit Company
- Manufacturers Trust Co. v. Becker
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