Whitehouse v. Illinois Central Railroad Co.
349 U.S. 366 · Decided June 6, 1955 · 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
Whitehouse v. Illinois Central Railroad Co. was decided on June 6, 1955 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Extraordinary relief” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 349 U.S. 366 · 75 S. Ct. 845 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 1155 · 1955 U.S. LEXIS 1480
- Docket number
- 131
- Decided
- June 6, 1955
- Argued
- February 10, 1955
- 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
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Extraordinary relief
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority |
Did not participate: John M. Harlan II.
Full case caption
Whitehouse et al. v. Illinois Central Railroad Co. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1954-090, docket 1954-090-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Extraordinary relief”
- Ex Parte Cogdell
- Bailey v. Patterson
- United States v. First National City Bank
- Will, U.S. District Judge v. United States
- In re Herndon
- Chandler, U.S. District Judge v. Judicial Council of the Tenth Circuit
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Co. v. Elbert
- Baltimore Contractors, Inc. v. Bodinger
- California ex Rel. Brown v. St. Louis Union Trust Co.
- Harsh v. Illinois Terminal Railroad Co.
- United States v. California Eastern Line, Inc.
- National City Bank of New York v. Republic of China
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