Railway Labor Executives' Assn. v. Gibbons
455 U.S. 457 · Decided March 2, 1982 · 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
Railway Labor Executives' Assn. v. Gibbons was decided on March 2, 1982 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Bankruptcy” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 455 U.S. 457 · 102 S. Ct. 1169 · 71 L. Ed. 2d 335 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 53
- Docket number
- 80-415
- Decided
- March 2, 1982
- Argued
- December 2, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Bankruptcy
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Railway Labor Executives' Assn. v. Gibbons, Trustee, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-052, docket 1981-052-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Bankruptcy”
- Central Trust Co. v. Official Creditors' Committee of Geiger Enterprises, Inc.
- United States v. Security Industrial Bank
- United States v. Whiting Pools, Inc.
- Brown v. Felsen
- Ohio v. Kovacs
- Butner v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc.
- Watt v. Energy Action Educational Foundation
- University of Texas v. Camenisch
- Director v. Perini North River Associates
- H. L. v. Matheson
- City of Los Angeles v. Lyons
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Watt v. Energy Action Educational Foundation
- Central Trust Co. v. Official Creditors' Committee of Geiger Enterprises, Inc.
- United States v. Clark
- Community Communications Co., Inc. v. City of Boulder
- New England Power Co. v. New HampshireLaw held unconstitutional
- G.D. Searle & Co. v. Cohn
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