Henry Harper v. Virginia Department of Taxation
509 U.S. 86 · Decided June 18, 1993 · 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
Henry Harper v. Virginia Department of Taxation was decided on June 18, 1993 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas 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
- 509 U.S. 86 · 113 S. Ct. 2510 · 125 L. Ed. 2d 74 · 1993 U.S. LEXIS 4212
- Docket number
- 91-794
- Decided
- June 18, 1993
- Argued
- December 2, 1992
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- State or local law or regulation
- Type of law
- State or local law or regulation
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Henry Harper, et al. v. Virginia Department of Taxation
SCDB identifiers: case 1992-101, docket 1992-101-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “National supremacy, intergovernmental tax immunity”
- Keyton E. Barker and Pauline Barker v. Kansas
- Nebraska Department of Revenue v. John Loewenstein
- California State Board of Equalization v. Sierra Summit, Inc.
- South Carolina v. BakerAltered precedent
- Jefferson County v. William M. Acker, Jr.
- Massachusetts v. United States
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- 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. Texas
- CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Lizzie Beatrice Easterwood
- United States v. Idaho
- United States Department of the Treasury and Mitchell A. Levine v. George Fabe
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