Whitney National Bank in Jefferson Parish v. Bank of New Orleans & Trust Company/Dissent Black

by Hugo Black

United States Supreme Court

379 U.S. 411

Whitney National Bank in Jefferson Parish  v.  Bank of New Orleans & Trust Company

 Argued: Nov. 12, 1964. --- Decided: Jan 18, 1965

Mr. Justice BLACK, dissenting.

For the reasons given in his dissenting opinion, I agree with my Brother DOUGLAS that the District Court has jurisdiction over this controversy and that the question of the Louisiana Act's constitutionality should not be remitted to the Federal Reserve Board, and I join his dissent on both those points. I would go further, however, and affirm the District Court's judgment. As pointed out in Mr. Justice DOUGLAS's dissent, Louisiana now has a law making it unlawful for any bank holding company to open for business in that State and Congress has consented for States to pass such a law. Accordingly, neither the Comptroller nor the Federal Reserve Board has power to permit the Whitney Holding Corporation to open a bank in Louisiana. Under these circumstances there is no reason whatever, except an entirely technical one, to let the litigation over this matter proceed any further. I would therefore end it by affirming the judgments of the Court of Appeals affirming the judgment of the District Court, a disposition which would, of course, call for a dismissal of the related controversy now pending in the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Notes