De Sylva v. Ballentine, Guardian

Decided June 11, 1956. John Marshall Harlan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 529 · 351 U.S. 570 (1956) · Cited 393 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.

• Clearfield Trust Co. v. United States · 318 U.S. 363 (1943)
• Mazer v. Stein · 347 U.S. 201 (1954)
• Board of Comm'rs of Jackson Cty. v. United States · 308 U.S. 343 (1939)
• United States v. Standard Oil Co. Of California · 332 U.S. 301 (1947)
• Heiser v. Woodruff · 327 U.S. 726 (1946)
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation v. Beaver County · 328 U.S. 204 (1946)
• National Metropolitan Bank v. United States · 323 U.S. 454 (1945)
• Fred Fisher Music Co. v. M. Witmark & Sons · 318 U.S. 643 (1943)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Windsor · 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
• United States v. Little Lake Misere Land Co. · 412 U.S. 580 (1973)
• United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc. · 440 U.S. 715 (1979)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp. · 383 U.S. 696 (1966)
• Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo · 439 U.S. 572 (1979)
• Burks v. Lasker · 441 U.S. 471 (1979)
• Glona v. American Guarantee & Liability Insurance · 391 U.S. 73 (1968)
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield · 490 U.S. 30 (1989)
• Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc. · 500 U.S. 90 (1991)
• County of Washington v. Gunther · 452 U.S. 161 (1981)
• Reves v. Ernst & Young · 494 U.S. 56 (1990)
• United States v. Yazell · 382 U.S. 341 (1966)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Fruit & Vegetable Packers & Warehousemen, Local 760 · 377 U.S. 58 (1964)
• Stewart v. Abend · 495 U.S. 207 (1990)
• Smith v. United States · 431 U.S. 291 (1977)

Official text

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

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John Marshall Harlan’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).