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Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana

453 U.S. 609 · Decided July 2, 1981 · 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

Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana was decided on July 2, 1981 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “State or local government tax” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
453 U.S. 609 · 101 S. Ct. 2946 · 69 L. Ed. 2d 884 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 43
Docket number
80-581
Decided
July 2, 1981
Argued
March 30, 1981
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
Vote
6–3
Majority opinion
Thurgood Marshall
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Appeal
Legal provision
Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)
Type of law
Constitution
Altered precedent
Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Commonwealth Edison Co. et al. v. Montana et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1980-151, docket 1980-151-01.

Other cases on “State or local government tax”

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Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

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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