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National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of the State of Illinois

386 U.S. 753 · Decided May 8, 1967 · 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

National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of the State of Illinois was decided on May 8, 1967 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart 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.

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Case details

Citations
386 U.S. 753 · 87 S. Ct. 1389 · 18 L. Ed. 2d 505 · 1967 U.S. LEXIS 2792
Docket number
241
Decided
May 8, 1967
Argued
February 23, 1967
Court era
Warren Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
6–3
Majority opinion
Potter Stewart
Opinion assigned by
Earl Warren
How the case arrived
Appeal
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

Full case caption

National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of the State of Illinois

SCDB identifiers: case 1966-090, docket 1966-090-01.

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