Dan Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc.
504 U.S. 374 · Decided June 1, 1992 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Dan Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. was decided on June 1, 1992 by a vote of 5–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part and reversed or vacated it in part. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 504 U.S. 374 · 112 S. Ct. 2031 · 119 L. Ed. 2d 157 · 1992 U.S. LEXIS 3254
- Docket number
- 90-1604
- Decided
- June 1, 1992
- Argued
- March 3, 1992
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- Byron R. White
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 49 U.S.C. § 1305
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority |
Did not participate: David H. Souter.
Full case caption
Dan Morales, Attorney General of Texas v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1991-080, docket 1991-080-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation”
- The District of Columbia and Sharon Pratt Kelly v. the Greater Washington Board of Trade
- Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District v. Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts/rhode Island, Inc.
- United States v. Idaho
- Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Ralph Mortier
- United States Department of the Treasury and Mitchell A. Levine v. George Fabe
- Ingersoll-Rand Company v. Perry McClendon
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- United States of America v. State of Alaska on Bill of Complaint
- Keyton E. Barker and Pauline Barker v. Kansas
- New York v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
- Thomas Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc.
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