Consolidated Rail Corporation v. James E. Gottshall
Decided June 24, 1994. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 92-1956 · 512 U.S. 532 (1994) · Cited 720 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.
Majority · 5
- Clarence Thomas · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Antonin Scalia
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 1
- David Hackett Souter · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway v. Buell · 480 U.S. 557 (1987)
- Urie v. Thompson · 337 U.S. 163 (1949)
- Kernan v. American Dredging Co. · 355 U.S. 426 (1958)
- Monessen Southwestern Railway Co. v. Morgan · 486 U.S. 330 (1988)
- Rogers v. Missouri Pacific Railroad · 352 U.S. 500 (1957)
- Wilkerson v. McCarthy · 336 U.S. 53 (1949)
- Ellis v. Union Pacific Railroad · 329 U.S. 649 (1947)
- Sinkler v. Missouri Pacific Railroad · 356 U.S. 326 (1958)
- Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
- Tiller v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad · 318 U.S. 54 (1943)
- Inman v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad · 361 U.S. 138 (1959)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Ayers · 538 U.S. 135 (2003)
- Metro-North Commuter Railroad v. Buckley · 521 U.S. 424 (1997)
- Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Sorrell · 549 U.S. 158 (2007)
- Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter, Communities for Great Ore. · 515 U.S. 687 (1995)
- Johnson v. California · 543 U.S. 499 (2005)
- Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe · 593 U.S. 628 (2021)
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).