Carson et al. v. American Brands, Inc., T/a American Tobacco Co., et al.

Decided February 25, 1981. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-1236 · 450 U.S. 79 (1981) · Cited 921 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 9–0.

“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.

• Gardner v. Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. · 437 U.S. 478 (1978)
• General Electric Co. v. Marvel Rare Metals Co. · 287 U.S. 430 (1932)
• Baltimore Contractors, Inc. v. Bodinger · 348 U.S. 176 (1955)
• Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. · 337 U.S. 541 (1949)
• Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay · 437 U.S. 463 (1978)
• Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. · 415 U.S. 36 (1974)
• Cobbledick v. United States · 309 U.S. 323 (1940)
• Protective Committee for Independent Stockholders of TMT Trailer Ferry, Inc. v. Anderson · 390 U.S. 414 (1968)
• United States v. Armour & Co. · 402 U.S. 673 (1971)
• Switzerland Cheese Assn., Inc. v. E. Horne's Market, Inc. · 385 U.S. 23 (1966)

Cited by

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

• Abbott v. Perez · 585 U.S. 579 (2018)
• Firefighters Local Union No. 1784 v. Stotts · 467 U.S. 561 (1984)
• Department of Education v. California · 604 U.S. 650 (2025)
• Local Number 93, International Ass'n of Firefighters v. City of Cleveland · 478 U.S. 501 (1986)
• A.A.R.P. v. Trump · 605 U.S. 91 (2025)
• Trump v. J. G. G. · 604 U.S. 670 (2025)
• Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp. · 460 U.S. 1 (1983)
• Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. v. Mayacamas Corp. · 485 U.S. 271 (1988)
• Martin v. Wilks · 490 U.S. 755 (1989)
• Stringfellow v. Concerned Neighbors in Action · 480 U.S. 370 (1987)

Official text

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

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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’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).