John A. Rapanos v. United States
547 U.S. 715 · Decided June 19, 2006 · 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
John A. Rapanos v. United States was decided on June 19, 2006 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Natural resources and environmental protection” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 547 U.S. 715 · 126 S. Ct. 2208 · 165 L. Ed. 2d 159 · 2006 U.S. LEXIS 4887
- Docket number
- 04-1034
- Decided
- June 19, 2006
- Argued
- February 21, 2006
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Natural resources and environmental protection
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
John A. Rapanos, et Ux., et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2005-069, docket 2005-069-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Natural resources and environmental protection”
- S. D. Warren Company v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection
- Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corporation
- United States v. Atlantic Research Corporation
- Francis A. Orff v. United States
- National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife
- Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc.
Cases on the same legal provision: Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act)
- Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker
- Entergy Corporation v. Riverkeeper, Inc.
- Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (Toc), Inc.
- National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense
- City of Burlington v. Ernest Dague, Sr.
- United States Department of Energy v. Ohio
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- United States v. Joseph Olson
- Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. v. Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc.
- Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. John Cardegna
- Ministry of Defense and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v. Dariush Elahi
- Barbara Dolan v. United States Postal Service
- Texaco Inc. v. Fouad N. Dagher
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