United States v. Seaboard Air Line Railroad Co.
361 U.S. 78 · Decided November 9, 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
United States v. Seaboard Air Line Railroad Co. was decided on November 9, 1959 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Railroad regulation” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 361 U.S. 78 · 80 S. Ct. 12 · 4 L. Ed. 2d 25 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 153
- Docket number
- 10
- Decided
- November 9, 1959
- Argued
- October 19, 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Railroad regulation
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 45 U.S.C. § 1
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated 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 | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Seaboard Air Line Railroad Co.
SCDB identifiers: case 1959-004, docket 1959-004-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Railroad regulation”
- Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. United States
- Boston & Maine Railroad v. United States
- H. K. Porter Co., Inc. v. Central Vermont Railway, Inc.
- Chicago v. United States
- Alleghany Corporation v. Breswick & Co.
- Chicago v. Illinois
Cases on the same legal provision: 45 U.S.C. § 1
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Harris v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
- Conner v. Butler
- Sentilles v. Inter-Caribbean Shipping Corp.
- West v. United States
- Braen v. Pfeifer Oil Transportation Co., Inc.
- Inman v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.
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