United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co.

352 U.S. 59 · Decided December 3, 1956 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. was decided on December 3, 1956 by a vote of 6–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Judicial review of agency actions” in the Judicial Power area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: Stanley F. Reed, William J. Brennan Jr..

Full case caption

United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1956-008, docket 1956-008-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Judicial review of agency actions”

• United States v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co.
  352 U.S. 77Decided December 3, 19566–1John M. Harlan II
• Leedom v. International Union of Mine
  352 U.S. 145Decided December 10, 19569–0William O. Douglas
• Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America v. National Labor Relations Board
  352 U.S. 153Decided December 10, 19569–0William O. Douglas
• Civil Aeronautics Board v. Hermann
  353 U.S. 322Decided May 6, 19579–0Per curiam
• Frozen Food Express v. United States
  351 U.S. 40Decided April 23, 19568–1William O. Douglas
• Secretary of Agriculture v. United States
  350 U.S. 162Decided January 9, 19566–3John M. Harlan II

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Interstate Commerce Act

• United States v. Interstate Commerce Commission
  352 U.S. 158Decided December 17, 19566–2Stanley F. Reed
• Alleghany Corporation v. Breswick & Co.
  353 U.S. 151Decided April 22, 19575–3Felix Frankfurter
• Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corp. v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co.
  353 U.S. 436Decided June 3, 19576–3William O. Douglas
• East Texas Motor Freight Lines, Inc. v. Frozen Food Express
  351 U.S. 49Decided April 23, 19565–4William O. Douglas
• Dixie Carriers, Inc. v. United States
  351 U.S. 56Decided April 23, 19569–0William O. Douglas
• Chicago v. Illinois
  355 U.S. 300Decided January 13, 19589–0William J. Brennan Jr.

Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)

• Brownell v. Chase National Bank of New York
  352 U.S. 36Decided November 19, 19567–0William O. Douglas
• United States v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co.
  352 U.S. 77Decided December 3, 19566–1John M. Harlan II
• Leedom v. International Union of Mine
  352 U.S. 145Decided December 10, 19569–0William O. Douglas
• Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America v. National Labor Relations Board
  352 U.S. 153Decided December 10, 19569–0William O. Douglas
• Leiter Minerals, Inc. v. United States
  352 U.S. 220Decided January 14, 19578–1Felix Frankfurter
• La Buy v. Howes Leather Co., Inc.
  352 U.S. 249Decided January 14, 19575–4Tom C. Clark

See all

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