California State Board of Equalization v. Sierra Summit, Inc.
490 U.S. 844 · Decided June 12, 1989 · 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
California State Board of Equalization v. Sierra Summit, Inc. was decided on June 12, 1989 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, intergovernmental tax immunity” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 490 U.S. 844 · 109 S. Ct. 2228 · 104 L. Ed. 2d 910 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2865
- Docket number
- 88-681
- Decided
- June 12, 1989
- Argued
- April 19, 1989
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 960
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Jurisdictional dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Jurisdictional dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
California State Board of Equalization v. Sierra Summit, Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-106, docket 1988-106-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “National supremacy, intergovernmental tax immunity”
- South Carolina v. BakerAltered precedent
- Keyton E. Barker and Pauline Barker v. Kansas
- Henry Harper v. Virginia Department of Taxation
- Nebraska Department of Revenue v. John Loewenstein
- Jefferson County v. William M. Acker, Jr.
- Massachusetts v. United States
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
- Davis v. Michigan Department of the TreasuryLaw held unconstitutional
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Graham
- California v. Arc America Corp.
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