Carroll v. Lanza
349 U.S. 408 · Decided June 6, 1955 · 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
Carroll v. Lanza was decided on June 6, 1955 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miscellaneous federalism” in the Federalism area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 349 U.S. 408 · 75 S. Ct. 804 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 1183 · 1955 U.S. LEXIS 1389
- Docket number
- 375
- Decided
- June 6, 1955
- Argued
- March 31, 1955
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- 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)
- Miscellaneous federalism
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Article IV, Section 1 (full faith and credit clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- 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 | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent |
Full case caption
Carroll et al. v. Lanza, Doing Business as Lake Charles Electric Co.
SCDB identifiers: case 1954-092, docket 1954-092-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Miscellaneous federalism”
- Chicago v. Stude
- Bank of America National Trust & Savings Association v. Parnell
- Ragan v. Merchants Transfer & Warehouse Co.
- Woods v. Interstate Realty Co.
- Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp.
- Corbett v. Stergios
Cases on the same legal provision: Article IV, Section 1 (full faith and credit clause)
- Armstrong v. Armstrong
- Wells v. Simonds Abrasive Co.
- May v. Anderson
- Vanderbilt v. VanderbiltAltered precedent
- First National Bank of Chicago v. United Air Lines, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Sutton v. Leib
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Castle v. Hayes Freight Lines, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Weber v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
- General Drivers v. American Tobacco Co., Inc.
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