Franks et al. v. Bowman Transportation Co., Inc., et al.

Decided March 24, 1976. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-728 · 424 U.S. 747 (1976) · Cited 1,479 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 5–3.

“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.

• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Sosna v. Iowa · 419 U.S. 393 (1975)
• Phelps Dodge Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 313 U.S. 177 (1941)
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• Board of School Comm'rs of Indianapolis v. Jacobs · 420 U.S. 128 (1975)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman · 345 U.S. 330 (1953)
• Tilton v. Missouri Pacific Railroad · 376 U.S. 169 (1964)
• Fishgold v. Sullivan Drydock & Repair Corp. · 328 U.S. 275 (1946)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. · 415 U.S. 36 (1974)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 411 U.S. 192 (1973)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. · 390 U.S. 400 (1968)
• Hecht Co. v. Bowles · 321 U.S. 321 (1944)
• Humphrey v. Moore · 375 U.S. 335 (1964)
• National Labor Relations Board v. J. H. Rutter-Rex Manufacturing Co. · 396 U.S. 258 (1969)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Nevada Consolidated Copper Corp. · 316 U.S. 105 (1942)
• Local 60, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners v. National Labor Relations Board · 365 U.S. 651 (1961)

Cited by

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

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 458 U.S. 219 (1982)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Ass'n v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 478 U.S. 421 (1986)
• Kremens v. Bartley · 431 U.S. 119 (1977)
• American Tobacco Co. v. Patterson · 456 U.S. 63 (1982)
• Zipes v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 455 U.S. 385 (1982)
• Firefighters Local Union No. 1784 v. Stotts · 467 U.S. 561 (1984)
• United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty · 445 U.S. 388 (1980)
• United Air Lines, Inc. v. Evans · 431 U.S. 553 (1977)
• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison · 432 U.S. 63 (1977)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Lorance v. At&t Technologies, Inc. · 490 U.S. 900 (1989)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Gall v. United States · 552 U.S. 38 (2007)
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes · 564 U.S. 338 (2011)
• Local Number 93, International Ass'n of Firefighters v. City of Cleveland · 478 U.S. 501 (1986)
• United Airlines, Inc. v. McDonald · 432 U.S. 385 (1977)
• Independent Federation of Flight Attendants v. Zipes · 491 U.S. 754 (1989)
• United States v. Sanchez-Gomez · 584 U.S. 381 (2018)
• McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co. · 513 U.S. 352 (1995)
• Cooper v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond · 467 U.S. 867 (1984)
• United States v. Paradise · 480 U.S. 149 (1987)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson · 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• County of Los Angeles v. Davis · 440 U.S. 625 (1979)
• Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, County of Norfolk · 457 U.S. 596 (1982)

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).