Sears v. Carpet
397 U.S. 655 · Decided April 27, 1970 · 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
Sears v. Carpet was decided on April 27, 1970 unanimously (8–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Mootness” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 397 U.S. 655 · 90 S. Ct. 1299 · 25 L. Ed. 2d 637 · 1970 U.S. LEXIS 101
- Docket number
- 476
- Decided
- April 27, 1970
- Argued
- March 3, 1970
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Mootness
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority |
Full case caption
Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Carpet, Linoleum, Soft Tile & Resilient Floor Covering Layers, Local Union No. 419, AFL-CIO, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1969-084, docket 1969-084-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Mootness”
- Sanks v. Georgia
- Powell v. McCormack
- Noyd v. Bond
- Durham v. United States
- Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. O'Connell
- North Carolina v. Rice
Cases on the same legal provision: Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- United States v. Armour & Co.
- Association of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc. v. Camp
- Barlow v. Collins
- Brockington v. Rhodes
- Hall et Ux. v. Beals
- Moore v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Conway v. California Adult Authority
- City of Chicago v. United States
- National Labor Relations Board v. J. H. Rutter-Rex Manufacturing Co., Inc.
- Maryland and Virginia Eldership of the Churches of God v. Church of God at Sharpsburg, Inc.
- Goldstein v. Cox
- Shapiro v. Doe
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