American Power & Light Co. v. Securities & Exchange Commission

Decided November 25, 1946. Frank Murphy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 4 · 329 U.S. 90 (1946) · Cited 624 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Phelps Dodge Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 313 U.S. 177 (1941)
• United States v. Darby · 312 U.S. 100 (1941)
• North American Co. v. Securities & Exchange Commission · 327 U.S. 686 (1946)
• Electric Bond & Share Co. v. Securities & Exchange Comm'n · 303 U.S. 419 (1938)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Yakus v. United States · 321 U.S. 414 (1944)
• Sunshine Anthracite Coal Co. v. Adkins · 310 U.S. 381 (1940)
• The Japanese Immigrant Case · 189 U.S. 86 (1903)
• Wuchter v. Pizzutti · 276 U.S. 13 (1928)
• International Textbook Co. v. Pigg · 217 U.S. 91 (1910)
• Ashbacker Radio Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission · 326 U.S. 327 (1946)
• The Chicago Junction Case · 264 U.S. 258 (1924)
• New York Central Securities Corporation v. United States · 287 U.S. 12 (1932)
• Coe v. Armour Fertilizer Works · 237 U.S. 413 (1915)
• New York Ex Rel. Hatch v. Reardon · 204 U.S. 152 (1907)
• Jacob Siegel Co. v. Federal Trade Commission · 327 U.S. 608 (1946)
• Brooks v. United States · 267 U.S. 432 (1925)
• United States v. Reading Co. · 253 U.S. 26 (1920)
• Kentucky Railroad Tax Cases · 115 U.S. 321 (1885)
• Tyler v. Judges of the Court of Registration · 179 U.S. 405 (1900)
• Intermountain Rate Cases · 234 U.S. 476 (1914)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• FCC v. Consumers' Research · 606 U.S. 656 (2025)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Butz v. Glover Livestock Commission Co. · 411 U.S. 182 (1973)
• Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads · 575 U.S. 43 (2015)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Industrial Union Dept., AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute · 448 U.S. 607 (1980)
• Pan American World Airways, Inc. v. United States · 371 U.S. 296 (1963)
• Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath · 341 U.S. 123 (1951)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Greene v. McElroy · 360 U.S. 474 (1959)
• Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton · 413 U.S. 49 (1973)
• Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co. · 473 U.S. 568 (1985)
• McGautha v. California · 402 U.S. 183 (1971)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Burns v. United States · 501 U.S. 129 (1991)
• Clinton v. City of New York · 524 U.S. 417 (1998)
• Zuber v. Allen · 396 U.S. 168 (1969)
• United States v. 12 200-Ft. Reels of Super 8MM. Film · 413 U.S. 123 (1973)
• Lichter v. United States · 334 U.S. 742 (1948)
• American Trucking Assns., Inc. v. United States · 344 U.S. 298 (1953)
• White v. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, Inc. · 460 U.S. 204 (1983)
• Federal Energy Administration v. Algonquin SNG, Inc. · 426 U.S. 548 (1976)
• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
• Ohio Adjutant General's Dept. v. FLRA · 598 U.S. 449 (2023)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Frank Murphy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).