United States v. Martin Linen Supply Co. et al.

Decided April 4, 1977. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 76-120 · 430 U.S. 564 (1977) · Cited 1,460 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 7–1.

“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.

• United States v. Wilson · 420 U.S. 332 (1975)
• United States v. Sisson · 399 U.S. 267 (1970)
• Fong Foo v. United States · 369 U.S. 141 (1962)
• United States v. Sanford · 429 U.S. 14 (1976)
• Serfass v. United States · 420 U.S. 377 (1975)
• United States v. Jenkins · 420 U.S. 358 (1975)
• United States v. Perez · 22 U.S. 579 (1824)
• Schwegmann Bros. v. Calvert Distillers Corp. · 341 U.S. 384 (1951)
• Green v. United States · 355 U.S. 184 (1957)
• United States v. Jorn · 400 U.S. 470 (1971)
• Ex Parte Lange · 85 U.S. 163 (1874)
• United States v. Ball · 163 U.S. 662 (1896)
• Illinois v. Somerville · 410 U.S. 458 (1973)
• Downum v. United States · 372 U.S. 734 (1963)
• Singer v. United States · 380 U.S. 24 (1965)
• Sparf v. United States · 156 U.S. 51 (1895)
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America v. United States · 330 U.S. 395 (1947)
• United States v. Morrison · 429 U.S. 1 (1976)

Cited by

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

• Evans v. Michigan · 568 U.S. 313 (2013)
• United States v. Scott · 437 U.S. 82 (1978)
• Smith v. Massachusetts · 543 U.S. 462 (2005)
• Price, Warden v. Vincent · 538 U.S. 634 (2003)
• United States v. DiFrancesco · 449 U.S. 117 (1980)
• Sanabria v. United States · 437 U.S. 54 (1978)
• McElrath v. Georgia · 601 U.S. 87 (2024)
• Smalis v. Pennsylvania · 476 U.S. 140 (1986)
• Blueford v. Arkansas · 566 U.S. 599 (2012)
• Justices of Boston Municipal Court v. Lydon · 466 U.S. 294 (1984)
• Smith v. United States · 599 U.S. 236 (2023)
• Tibbs v. Florida · 457 U.S. 31 (1982)
• Rose v. Clark · 478 U.S. 570 (1986)
• Arizona v. Manypenny · 451 U.S. 232 (1981)
• Lee v. United States · 432 U.S. 23 (1977)
• Swisher v. Brady · 438 U.S. 204 (1978)
• Arizona v. Fulminante · 499 U.S. 279 (1991)
• Burks v. United States · 437 U.S. 1 (1978)
• Sandstrom v. Montana · 442 U.S. 510 (1979)
• Brown v. Ohio · 432 U.S. 161 (1977)
• Sullivan v. Louisiana · 508 U.S. 275 (1993)
• Dowling v. United States · 493 U.S. 342 (1990)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Washington v. Recuenco · 548 U.S. 212 (2006)
• Crist v. Bretz · 437 U.S. 28 (1978)
• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• Bullington v. Missouri · 451 U.S. 430 (1981)
• Richardson v. United States · 468 U.S. 317 (1984)
• Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel · 524 U.S. 498 (1998)
• Carella v. California · 491 U.S. 263 (1989)

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).