Carroll et al. v. Lanza, Doing Business as Lake Charles Electric Co.

Decided June 6, 1955. William Orville Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 375 · 349 U.S. 408 (1955) · Cited 162 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 6–3.

“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.

• Bradford Electric Light Co. v. Clapper · 286 U.S. 145 (1932)
• Pacific Employers Insurance v. Industrial Accident Comm'n · 306 U.S. 493 (1939)
• Hughes v. Fetter · 341 U.S. 609 (1951)
• Broderick v. Rosner · 294 U.S. 629 (1935)
• Alaska Packers Assn. v. Industrial Accident Comm'n of Cal. · 294 U.S. 532 (1935)
• Griffin v. McCoach · 313 U.S. 498 (1941)
• Industrial Comm'n of Wis. v. McCartin · 330 U.S. 622 (1947)
• Magnolia Petroleum Co. v. Hunt · 320 U.S. 430 (1944)
• Order of United Commercial Travelers of America v. Wolfe · 331 U.S. 586 (1947)
• Converse v. Hamilton · 224 U.S. 243 (1912)
• Aetna Life Insurance v. Dunken · 266 U.S. 389 (1925)
• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Duel · 324 U.S. 154 (1945)
• Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad v. George · 233 U.S. 354 (1914)
• Clark v. Williard · 292 U.S. 112 (1934)
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance v. Yates · 299 U.S. 178 (1936)
• Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Manufacturing Co. · 313 U.S. 487 (1941)
• Cardillo v. Liberty Mutual Insurance · 330 U.S. 469 (1947)
• Pennsylvania Fire Insurance v. Gold Issue Mining & Milling Co. · 243 U.S. 93 (1917)
• Watson v. Employers Liability Assurance Corp. · 348 U.S. 66 (1954)
• Supreme Council of the Royal Arcanum v. Green · 237 U.S. 531 (1915)
• Wells v. Simonds Abrasive Co. · 345 U.S. 514 (1953)
• Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Sowers · 213 U.S. 55 (1909)

Cited by

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

• Allstate Insurance v. Hague · 449 U.S. 302 (1981)
• Thomas v. Washington Gas Light Co. · 448 U.S. 261 (1980)
• Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts · 472 U.S. 797 (1985)
• Richards v. United States · 369 U.S. 1 (1962)
• National Pork Producers Council v. Ross · 598 U.S. 356 (2023)

Official text

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

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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).