McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co.
427 U.S. 273 · Decided June 25, 1976 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. was decided on June 25, 1976 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Employment discrimination (race, age, religion, illegitimacy, national origin, working conditions)” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 427 U.S. 273 · 96 S. Ct. 2574 · 49 L. Ed. 2d 493 · 1976 U.S. LEXIS 8
- Docket number
- 75-260
- Decided
- June 25, 1976
- Argued
- April 20, 1976
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Employment discrimination (race, age, religion, illegitimacy, national origin, working conditions)
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Concurrence | Co-authored an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Full case caption
McDonald et al. v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1975-154, docket 1975-154-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Employment discrimination (race, age, religion, illegitimacy, national origin, working conditions)”
- Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia
- Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer
- Washington v. Davis
- Brown v. General Services Administration
- Chandler v. Roudebush
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Federal Power Commission
Cases on the same legal provision: Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
- General Electric Co. v. Gilbert
- Dothard v. Rawlinson
- Nashville Gas Co. v. Satty
- Richmond Unified School District v. Berg
- Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. Manhart
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Turner v. Department of Employment Security of UtahLaw held unconstitutional
- Mathews v. Eldridge
- De Canas v. Bica
- Fisher v. District Court of the Sixteenth Judicial District of Montana
- Imbler v. Pachtman
- Lavine v. Milne
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