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Maryland v. Louisiana

451 U.S. 725 · Decided May 26, 1981 · 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

Maryland v. Louisiana was decided on May 26, 1981 by a vote of 7–1. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “State or local government tax” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
451 U.S. 725 · 101 S. Ct. 2114 · 68 L. Ed. 2d 576 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 27
Docket number
83 ORIG
Decided
May 26, 1981
Argued
January 19, 1981
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
7–1
Majority opinion
Byron R. White
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Original jurisdiction
Legal provision
Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)
Type of law
Constitution
Held unconstitutional
A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Majority
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Thurgood MarshallMajority
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajority
Justice William H. RehnquistDissentWrote an opinion
Justice John Paul StevensMajority

Did not participate: Lewis F. Powell Jr..

Full case caption

Maryland et al. v. Louisiana

SCDB identifiers: case 1980-099, docket 1980-099-01.

Other cases on “State or local government tax”

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Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

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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