Local No. 438 Construction & General Laborers' Union v. Curry
371 U.S. 542 · Decided January 21, 1963 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Local No. 438 Construction & General Laborers' Union v. Curry was decided on January 21, 1963 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction” 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
- 371 U.S. 542 · 83 S. Ct. 531 · 9 L. Ed. 2d 514 · 1963 U.S. LEXIS 2516
- Docket number
- 87
- Decided
- January 21, 1963
- Argued
- November 7, 1962
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- National Labor Relations Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- 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 William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Majority |
Full case caption
Local No. 438 Construction & General Laborers' Union, AFL-CIO, v. Curry et Al., Doing Business as S. J. Curry & Co.
SCDB identifiers: case 1962-037, docket 1962-037-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction”
- Incres Steamship Co., Ltd. v. International Maritime Workers Union
- Smith v. Evening News AssociationAltered precedent
- Local 100 v. Borden
- Local No. 207 v. Perko
- Marine Engineers Beneficial Association v. Interlake Steamship Co.
- Retail Clerks International Association v. Schermerhorn
Cases on the same legal provision: National Labor Relations Act
- National Labor Relations Board v. Reliance Fuel Oil Corp.
- McCulloch v. Sociedad Nacional de Marineros de Honduras
- Ex Parte George
- National Labor Relations Board v. Erie Resistor Corp.
- National Labor Relations Board v. General Motors Corp.
- Retail Clerks International Association v. Schermerhorn
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Ex Parte George
- Smith v. Evening News AssociationAltered precedent
- Incres Steamship Co., Ltd. v. International Maritime Workers Union
- Northern Natural Gas Co. v. State Corporation Commission of Kansas
- Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission v. Continental Air Lines, Inc.
- Hawaii v. Gordon
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