Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York
336 U.S. 106 · Decided January 31, 1949 · 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
Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York was decided on January 31, 1949 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Commercial speech, excluding attorneys” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 336 U.S. 106 · 69 S. Ct. 463 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 533 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2800
- Docket number
- 51
- Decided
- January 31, 1949
- Argued
- December 6, 1948
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Commercial speech, excluding attorneys
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Railway Express Agency, Inc. et al. v. New York
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-031, docket 1948-031-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Commercial speech, excluding attorneys”
- Donaldson v. Read Magazine, Inc.
- Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations
- Bigelow v. VirginiaLaw held unconstitutional
- Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc.Altered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Township of WillingboroLaw held unconstitutional
- Friedman v. Rogers
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Fisher v. Pace
- Macdougall v. Green
- Williams v. New York
- Watts v. Indiana
- Turner v. Pennsylvania
- Harris v. South Carolina
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Kovacs v. Cooper
- Giboney v. Empire Storage & Ice Co.
- Terminiello v. ChicagoLaw 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