O'Donnell, Administratrix, v. Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co.
Decided December 12, 1949. Robert Houghwout Jackson delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 56 · 338 U.S. 384 (1949) · Cited 180 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 4–2.
Majority · 4
- Robert Houghwout Jackson · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Frederick Moore Vinson
- Hugo Lafayette Black
- Tom C. Clark
Dissenting · 2
- Harold Hitz Burton · filed a dissenting opinion
- Stanley Forman Reed
“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.
- Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad v. Gotschall · 244 U.S. 66 (1917)
- San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway Co. v. Wagner · 241 U.S. 476 (1916)
- Seaboard Air Line Railway v. Horton · 233 U.S. 492 (1914)
- St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. v. Taylor · 210 U.S. 281 (1908)
- Ellis v. Union Pacific Railroad · 329 U.S. 649 (1947)
- Union Pacific Railway Co. v. McDonald · 152 U.S. 262 (1894)
- Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Co. v. United States · 220 U.S. 559 (1911)
- Myers v. Reading Co. · 331 U.S. 477 (1947)
- Delk v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad · 220 U.S. 580 (1911)
- Brady v. Terminal Railroad Assn. · 303 U.S. 10 (1938)
- Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Layton · 243 U.S. 617 (1917)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Kernan v. American Dredging Co. · 355 U.S. 426 (1958)
- Affolder v. New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad · 339 U.S. 96 (1950)
- Carter v. Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railway Co. · 338 U.S. 430 (1949)
- Crane v. Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway Co. · 395 U.S. 164 (1969)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Robert Houghwout Jackson’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).