United States v. Spelar
338 U.S. 217 · Decided November 7, 1949 · 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. Spelar was decided on November 7, 1949 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Stanley F. Reed 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
- 338 U.S. 217 · 70 S. Ct. 10 · 94 L. Ed. 2d 3 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2921
- Docket number
- 42
- Decided
- November 7, 1949
- Argued
- October 18, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Stanley F. Reed
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- 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 Stanley F. Reed | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: William O. Douglas.
Full case caption
United States v. Spelar, Administratrix
SCDB identifiers: case 1949-001, docket 1949-001-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- United States v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.
- Alcoa Steamship Co., Inc. v. United States
- Larson v. Domestic and Foreign Commerce Corp.
- Fink v. Shepard Steamship Co.
- United States v. Wittek
- Brooks v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- Hubsch v. United States
- Gardner v. Panama Railroad Co.
- United States v. Brown
- Richards v. United States
- United States v. Hohri
- William McNeil v. United States
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Treichler v. WisconsinLaw held unconstitutional
- Faulkner v. Gibbs
- Reilly v. Pinkus
- United States v. Capital Transit Company
- Brown v. Western Railway of Alabama
- Manufacturers Trust Co. v. Becker
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