Howell v. Howell
137 S. Ct. 1400 · Decided May 15, 2017 · 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
Howell v. Howell was decided on May 15, 2017 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2016
Case details
- Citations
- 137 S. Ct. 1400 · 197 L. Ed. 2d 781 · 2017 U.S. LEXIS 2946
- Docket number
- 15-1031
- Decided
- May 15, 2017
- Argued
- March 20, 2017
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act 10 U.S.C. 1408
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Did not participate: Neil M. Gorsuch.
Full case caption
Howell v. Howell
SCDB identifiers: case 2016-052, docket 2016-052-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction”
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan v. Feliciano
- Northwest, Inc. v. Ginsberg
- Dan’s City Used Cars, Inc. v. Robert Pelkey
- Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta
- Gloria Gail Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corporation
- Cruz v. Arizona
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
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