Mansell v. Mansell
490 U.S. 581 · Decided May 30, 1989 · 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
Mansell v. Mansell was decided on May 30, 1989 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Thurgood Marshall 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
- 490 U.S. 581 · 109 S. Ct. 2023 · 104 L. Ed. 2d 675 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2605
- Docket number
- 87-201
- Decided
- May 30, 1989
- Argued
- January 10, 1989
- 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
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 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 William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Mansell v. Mansell
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-094, docket 1988-094-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation”
- California v. Arc America Corp.
- Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Adams Fruit Co., Inc. v. Barrett
- Felder v. Casey
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
- Davis v. Michigan Department of the TreasuryLaw held unconstitutional
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Graham
- California v. Arc America Corp.
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