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Supreme Court · Decisions

Platt, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, v. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.

376 U.S. 240 · No. 113 · 1963 term · Warren Court

Decided Mar 9, 1964 · argued Jan 9, 1964

Judicial power · Venue

Majority opinion: Tom Clark

The voteMajority

9–09 in the majority, 0 in dissent

No dissent (9–0)

Reversed and remanded. Platt, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, won.

What this ruling means

Reversed and remanded: the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit and sent the case back to that court for further proceedings that follow the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Platt, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Won” means the Court gave that side the result it asked for.

From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.

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Summary

The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.

Wikipedia has no article on this case, so there is no summary.

Data notes

The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.

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How the justices voted

Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 1963 term. Filled: the 9 in the majority. Hollow: the 0 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.

More liberalMore conservativeMedianDouglasBlackWarrenGoldbergBrennanWhiteClarkStewartHarlan

Majority(9)

Dissent(0)

  • None.
Data notes

Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.

Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.

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The parties

Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.

Petitioner
Platt, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court,Judge (United States)
Respondent
Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.Manufacturer
Reached the Court by
Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
Data notes

The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.

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The law at issue

The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.

Provision
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, or relevant rules of a circuit court
Kind of law
Court Rules
Decided by
Statutory construction
Data notes

The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.

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Timeline

What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.

  1. Mar 9, 1964DecidedDecided · Decided 9–0: reversed and remanded. Platt, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, won.
  2. Jan 9, 1964ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
  3. Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
  4. Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit: reversed, with a dissent.
  5. Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the Illinois Eastern U.S. District Court.
Data notes

From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.

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Other decisions on the same issue

48 other argued cases since 1946 on venue, newest first.

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  13. Leroy, Attorney General of Idaho, et al. v. Great Western United Corp.443 U.S. 173Jun 26, 1979 · 443 U.S. 173Judicial power6–36–3 band
  14. Citizens & Southern National Bank v. Bougas434 U.S. 35Nov 8, 1977 · 434 U.S. 35Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
  15. Radzanower v. Touche Ross & Co. et al.426 U.S. 148Jun 7, 1976 · 426 U.S. 148Judicial power8–18–1 band
  16. American Motorists Insurance Co. v. Starnes425 U.S. 637May 19, 1976 · 425 U.S. 637Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
  17. Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen et al.387 U.S. 556Jun 5, 1967 · 387 U.S. 556Judicial power6–36–3 band
  18. Pure Oil Co. v. Suarez384 U.S. 202May 16, 1966 · 384 U.S. 202Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
  19. Federal Power Commission v. Texaco Inc. et al.377 U.S. 33Apr 20, 1964 · 377 U.S. 33Judicial power8–18–1 band
  20. Van Dusen, U.S. District Judge, et al. v. Barrack, Administratrix, et al.376 U.S. 612Mar 30, 1964 · 376 U.S. 612Judicial power9–0Unanimous band

  21. Parsons, United States District Judge, v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co.375 U.S. 71Nov 12, 1963 · 375 U.S. 71Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
  22. Southern Construction Co., Inc., et al. v. Pickard, Doing Business As Pickard Engineering Co.371 U.S. 57Nov 5, 1962 · 371 U.S. 57Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
  23. Goldlawr, Inc., v. Heiman et al.369 U.S. 463Apr 30, 1962 · 369 U.S. 463Judicial power5–27–2 band

  24. Schnell et al. v. Peter Eckrich & Sons, Inc., et al.365 U.S. 260Feb 20, 1961 · 365 U.S. 260Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
  25. Continental Grain Co. v. Barge Fbl-585 et al.364 U.S. 19Jun 27, 1960 · 364 U.S. 19Judicial power7–27–2 band
  26. Hoffman, U.S. District Judge, v. Blaski et al.363 U.S. 335Jun 13, 1960 · 363 U.S. 335Judicial power6–36–3 band
  27. Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp. et al.353 U.S. 222Apr 29, 1957 · 353 U.S. 222Judicial power8–18–1 band
  28. Riverbank Laboratories v. Hardwood Products Corp.350 U.S. 1003Apr 2, 1956 · 350 U.S. 1003Judicial power8–0Unanimous band
  29. Norwood et al. v. Kirkpatrick, U.S. District Judge349 U.S. 29Apr 11, 1955 · 349 U.S. 29Judicial power5–36–3 band
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  31. Olberding, Doing Business As Vess Transfer Co., et al. v. Illinois Central Railroad Co., Inc.346 U.S. 338Nov 9, 1953 · 346 U.S. 338Judicial power7–27–2 band
  32. Polizzi v. Cowles Magazines, Inc.345 U.S. 663Jun 1, 1953 · 345 U.S. 663Judicial power7–0Unanimous band
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  34. Kerotest Manufacturing Co. v. C-O-Two Fire Equipment Co.342 U.S. 180Jan 2, 1952 · 342 U.S. 180Judicial power7–27–2 band
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  36. Missouri ex rel. Southern Railway Co. v. Mayfield, Circuit Court Judge340 U.S. 1Nov 6, 1950 · 340 U.S. 1Judicial power5–45–4 band
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  45. Suttle, Administratrix, v. Reich Bros. Construction Co. et al.333 U.S. 163Mar 8, 1948 · 333 U.S. 163Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
  46. Koster v. (American) Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co.330 U.S. 518Mar 10, 1947 · 330 U.S. 518Judicial power5–45–4 band
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Data notes

Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.

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Official record

Read the full opinion on Justia and the argument audio on Oyez. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.