San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon
359 U.S. 236 · Decided April 20, 1959 · 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
San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon was decided on April 20, 1959 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 359 U.S. 236 · 79 S. Ct. 773 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 775 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 1819
- Docket number
- 66
- Decided
- April 20, 1959
- Argued
- January 20, 1959
- 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
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- 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
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent |
Full case caption
San Diego Building Trades Council et al. v. Garmon et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-073, docket 1958-073-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction”
- Plumbers v. County of Door
- Devries v. Baumgartner's Electric Construction Co.
- Hotel Employees Union v. Sax Enterprises, Inc.
- Superior Court of Washington for King County v. Washington ex Rel. Yellow Cab Service, Inc.
- International Association of Machinists v. Gonzales
- International Union v. Russell
Cases on the same legal provision: National Labor Relations Act
- National Labor Relations Board v. Cabot Carbon Co.
- National Labor Relations Board v. Fant Milling Co.
- Local 24 v. Oliver
- Leedom v. Kyne
- Hotel Employees Local No. 255 v. Leedom
- National Labor Relations Board v. United Steelworkers of America
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Hotel Employees Union v. Sax Enterprises, Inc.
- Local 24 v. Oliver
- Plumbers v. County of Door
- Devries v. Baumgartner's Electric Construction Co.
- Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
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