Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Southwest Exploration Co.
350 U.S. 308 · Decided February 27, 1956 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Southwest Exploration Co. was decided on February 27, 1956 by a vote of 7–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 350 U.S. 308 · 76 S. Ct. 395 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 347 · 1956 U.S. LEXIS 1649
- Docket number
- 286
- Decided
- February 27, 1956
- Argued
- January 23, 1956
- 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
- 7–1
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)
- 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 Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority |
Did not participate: John M. Harlan II.
Full case caption
Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Southwest Exploration Co.
SCDB identifiers: case 1955-028, docket 1955-028-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)”
- United States v. Leslie Salt Co.
- Millinery Center Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Murdock Acceptance Corp. v. United States
- Corn Products Refining Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- United States v. Anderson
- United States v. Olympic Radio & Television, Inc.
Cases on the same legal provision: Internal Revenue Code
- Berra v. United States
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Lobue
- Putnam et Ux. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Estate of Sternberger
- United States v. Scovil
- Holland et Ux. v. United States
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- Corn Products Refining Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- United States v. Anderson
- United States v. Leslie Salt Co.
- Millinery Center Building Corp. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Murdock Acceptance Corp. v. United States
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Lobue
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