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Sears v. Mackey

351 U.S. 427 · Decided June 11, 1956 · 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. Mackey was decided on June 11, 1956 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Harold H. Burton wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal rules of civil procedure” in the Judicial Power area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
351 U.S. 427 · 76 S. Ct. 895 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 1297 · 1956 U.S. LEXIS 1847
Docket number
34
Decided
June 11, 1956
Argued
February 28, 1956
Court era
Warren 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
Harold H. Burton
Opinion assigned by
Earl Warren
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Judicial Power
Legal provision
Federal Rules of Civil or Appellate Procedure
Type of law
Court rules
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Hugo L. BlackMajority
Justice Stanley F. ReedMajority
Justice Felix FrankfurterSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice William O. DouglasMajority
Justice Harold H. BurtonMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Tom C. ClarkMajority
Justice Sherman MintonMajority
Chief Justice Earl WarrenMajority
Justice John M. Harlan IISpecial concurrence

Full case caption

Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Mackey et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1955-093, docket 1955-093-01.

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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