Watson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
345 U.S. 544 · Decided May 18, 1953 · 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
Watson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue was decided on May 18, 1953 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Harold H. Burton wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 345 U.S. 544 · 73 S. Ct. 848 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 1232 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2558
- Docket number
- 290
- Decided
- May 18, 1953
- Argued
- February 2, 1953
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Harold H. Burton
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- Internal Revenue Code
- 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 | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Watson et al. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-090, docket 1952-090-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)”
- Healy v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Alison v. United States
- Arrowsmith v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- United States v. Calderon
- United States v. Koppers Company, Inc.
- Marcelle v. Estate of Lupia
Cases on the same legal provision: Internal Revenue Code
- Central Bank v. United States
- United States v. Carroll
- United States v. Gilbert Associates, Inc.
- United States v. Lane Motor Co.
- Lober v. United States
- United States v. City of New Britain
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- Arrowsmith v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Nathanson v. National Labor Relations Board
- Alison v. United States
- Orvis v. Brownell
- Healy v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- United States v. Gilbert Associates, Inc.
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