District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc.
346 U.S. 100 · Decided June 8, 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
District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc. was decided on June 8, 1953 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Desegregation (general)” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 346 U.S. 100 · 73 S. Ct. 1007 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 1480 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2001
- Docket number
- 617
- Decided
- June 8, 1953
- Argued
- April 30, 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
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Desegregation (general)
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- District of Columbia statutes
- 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 | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: Robert H. Jackson.
Full case caption
District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-104, docket 1952-104-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Desegregation (general)”
- Barrows v. Jackson
- Avery v. Georgia
- Hernandez v. Texas
- Rice v. Sioux City Memorial Park Cemetery, Inc.
- Williams v. Georgia
- Shepherd v. Florida
Cases on the same legal provision: District of Columbia statutes
- District of Columbia v. Little
- Graham v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen
- Lynch v. Overholser
- General Motors Corp. v. District of Columbia
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Mandoli v. Acheson
- Bailess v. Paukune
- Orloff v. Willoughby
- Ramspeck v. Federal Trial Examiners Conference
- Heikkila v. Barber
- Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman
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