United States v. Mason
412 U.S. 391 · Decided June 4, 1973 · 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
United States v. Mason was decided on June 4, 1973 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 412 U.S. 391 · 93 S. Ct. 2202 · 37 L. Ed. 2d 22 · 1973 U.S. LEXIS 186
- Docket number
- 72-654
- Decided
- June 4, 1973
- Argued
- April 18, 1973
- Court era
- Burger 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
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | 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 |
Full case caption
United States v. Mason, Administrator, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1972-132, docket 1972-132-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Doe v. McMillan
- Logue v. United States
- Scheuer v. Rhodes
- Laird v. Nelms
- Affiliated Ute Citizens of Utah v. United States
- United States v. Reliable Transfer Co., Inc.Altered precedent
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Gottschalk v. Benson
- Evco v. JonesLaw held unconstitutional
- Union Oil Co. of California v. the San Jacinto
- Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of Cleveland
- Heublein, Inc. v. South Carolina Tax Commission
- Ricci v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange
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