Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union v. McElroy
367 U.S. 886 · Decided June 19, 1961 · 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
Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union v. McElroy was decided on June 19, 1961 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Security risk dismissals or benefit denials” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 367 U.S. 886 · 81 S. Ct. 1743 · 6 L. Ed. 2d 1230 · 1961 U.S. LEXIS 814
- Docket number
- 97
- Decided
- June 19, 1961
- Argued
- January 12, 1961
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Felix Frankfurter
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Security risk dismissals or benefit denials
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union, Local 473, AFL-CIO, et al. v. McElroy et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1960-138, docket 1960-138-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Security risk dismissals or benefit denials”
- Nostrand v. Little
- Flemming v. Nestor
- Nelson v. County of Los Angeles
- Greene v. McElroy
- Taylor v. McElroy
- Vitarelli v. Seaton
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (due process)
- Hutcheson v. United States
- Barenblatt v. United States
- Watkins v. United States
- Shaughnessy v. United States ex Rel. Mezei
- United States v. Vuitch
- Dennis v. United States
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- McPhaul v. United States
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Shelton v. TuckerLaw held unconstitutional
- Travis v. United States
- Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago
- Wilkinson 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