Colorado v. New Mexico
459 U.S. 176 · Decided December 13, 1982 · 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
Colorado v. New Mexico was decided on December 13, 1982 unanimously (9–0). Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Non-real property dispute between states” in the Interstate Relations area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 459 U.S. 176 · 103 S. Ct. 539 · 74 L. Ed. 2d 348 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 1
- Docket number
- 80 ORIG
- Decided
- December 13, 1982
- Argued
- October 4, 1982
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Original jurisdiction
- Issue (SCDB)
- Non-real property dispute between states
- Issue area
- Interstate Relations
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Unspecifiable what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Colorado v. New Mexico et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-014, docket 1982-014-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Non-real property dispute between states”
- Idaho ex Rel. Evans v. Oregon
- State of Arizona v. State of California
- Colorado v. New Mexico
- Maryland v. Louisiana
- Wisconsin v. Illinois
- Texas v. New Mexico
Same Term, same area (Interstate Relations)
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