Ellis v. Dixon
349 U.S. 458 · Decided June 6, 1955 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Ellis v. Dixon was decided on June 6, 1955 by a vote of 5–4. SCDB codes the disposition as “petition denied or appeal dismissed.” Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “No merits, writ improvidently granted” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 349 U.S. 458 · 75 S. Ct. 850 · 99 L. Ed. 2d 1231 · 1955 U.S. LEXIS 602
- Docket number
- 20
- Decided
- June 6, 1955
- Argued
- October 18, 1954
- Reargued
- April 20, 1955
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- John M. Harlan II
- Opinion assigned by
- Stanley F. Reed
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- No merits, writ improvidently granted
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Writ improvidently granted
- Type of law
- Other
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Dissent | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Ellis v. Dixon et Al., Members of the Board of Education of the City of Yonkers
SCDB identifiers: case 1954-095, docket 1954-095-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “No merits, writ improvidently granted”
- Rice v. Sioux City Memorial Park Cemetery, Inc.
- California ex Rel. Brown v. St. Louis Union Trust Co.
- Reeves v. Alabama.
- Stembridge v. Georgia
- Triplett v. Iowa.
- Hinkle v. New England Mutual Insurance Company of Boston
Cases on the same legal provision: Writ improvidently granted
- Wilson v. Loew's Incorporated
- The Monrosa v. Carbon Black Export, Inc.
- Hammerstein v. Superior Court of California
- Newsom v. Smyth
- Benz v. New York State Thruway Authority
- Rudolph et Ux. v. United States
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Co. v. Elbert
- Baltimore Contractors, Inc. v. Bodinger
- California ex Rel. Brown v. St. Louis Union Trust Co.
- Harsh v. Illinois Terminal Railroad Co.
- United States v. California Eastern Line, Inc.
- National City Bank of New York v. Republic of China
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error