Central Bank v. United States
345 U.S. 639 · Decided June 1, 1953 · 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
Central Bank v. United States was decided on June 1, 1953 by a vote of 4–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Stanley F. Reed wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Priority of federal fiscal claims” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 345 U.S. 639 · 73 S. Ct. 917 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 1312 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2537
- Docket number
- 521
- Decided
- June 1, 1953
- Argued
- April 29, 1953
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 4–3
- Majority opinion
- Stanley F. Reed
- Opinion assigned by
- Stanley F. Reed
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Priority of federal fiscal claims
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- Internal Revenue Code
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: Hugo L. Black, Robert H. Jackson.
Full case caption
Central Bank v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-096, docket 1952-096-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Priority of federal fiscal claims”
- United States v. Gilbert Associates, Inc.
- Orvis v. Brownell
- Nathanson v. National Labor Relations Board
- United States v. City of New Britain
- Brownell v. Singer
- United States v. Acri
Cases on the same legal provision: Internal Revenue Code
- Watson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- United States v. Carroll
- Healy v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- United States v. Lane Motor Co.
- Lober v. United States
- Alison v. United States
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- Arrowsmith v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Nathanson v. National Labor Relations Board
- Alison v. United States
- Orvis v. Brownell
- Healy v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- United States v. Gilbert Associates, 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