Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System v. Merrill
443 U.S. 340 · Decided June 27, 1979 · 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
Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System v. Merrill was decided on June 27, 1979 by a vote of 7–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Freedom of Information Act and related laws” in the Privacy area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 443 U.S. 340 · 99 S. Ct. 2800 · 61 L. Ed. 2d 587 · 1979 U.S. LEXIS 42
- Docket number
- 77-1387
- Decided
- June 27, 1979
- Argued
- December 6, 1978
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Freedom of Information Act and related laws
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Legal provision
- Freedom of Information, Sunshine, or Privacy Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System v. Merrill
SCDB identifiers: case 1978-151, docket 1978-151-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Freedom of Information, Sunshine, or Privacy Act
Same Term, same area (Privacy)
- Colautti v. FranklinLaw held unconstitutional
- Anders v. Floyd
- Chrysler Corp. v. Brown
- Bellotti v. BairdLaw held unconstitutional
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