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Fry v. United States

421 U.S. 542 · Decided May 27, 1975 · 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

Fry v. United States was decided on May 27, 1975 by a vote of 7–1. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, miscellaneous” in the Federalism area.

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Case details

Citations
421 U.S. 542 · 95 S. Ct. 1792 · 44 L. Ed. 2d 363 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 67
Docket number
73-822
Decided
May 27, 1975
Argued
November 11, 1974
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
7–1
Majority opinion
Thurgood Marshall
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Federalism
Legal provision
Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)
Type of law
Constitution
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William O. DouglasDissent from denial or dismissalWrote an opinion
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Majority
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajorityWrote an opinion
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajority
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Majority
Justice William H. RehnquistDissentWrote an opinion

Full case caption

Fry et al. v. United States

SCDB identifiers: case 1974-106, docket 1974-106-01.

Other cases on “National supremacy, miscellaneous”

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Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)

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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