Smith, Special Administrator, v. Sperling et al.
Decided June 10, 1957. William Orville Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 316 · 354 U.S. 91 (1957) · Cited 488 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 5–4.
Majority · 5
- William Orville Douglas · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Earl Warren
- Hugo Lafayette Black
- Tom C. Clark
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Dissenting · 4
- Charles Evans Whittaker
- Felix Frankfurter · filed a dissenting opinion
- Harold Hitz Burton
- John Marshall Harlan
“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.
- Hawes v. Oakland · 104 U.S. 450 (1882)
- City of Indianapolis v. Chase National Bank · 314 U.S. 63 (1941)
- Delaware & Hudson Co. v. Albany & Susquehanna Railroad · 213 U.S. 435 (1909)
- Koster v. (American) Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. · 330 U.S. 518 (1947)
- Strawbridge v. Curtiss · 7 U.S. 267 (1806)
- City of Dawson v. Columbia Avenue Saving Fund, Safe Deposit, Title & Trust Co. · 197 U.S. 178 (1905)
- Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
- Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. · 337 U.S. 541 (1949)
- Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
- Mollan v. Torrance · 22 U.S. 537 (1824)
- Mecom v. Fitzsimmons Drilling Co. · 284 U.S. 183 (1931)
- Niles-Bement-Pond Co. v. Iron Moulders Union Local No. 68 · 254 U.S. 77 (1920)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Newman-Green, Inc. v. Alfonzo-Larrain · 490 U.S. 826 (1989)
- Rosado v. Wyman · 397 U.S. 397 (1970)
- Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc. · 500 U.S. 90 (1991)
- Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc. · 484 U.S. 49 (1987)
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).