National Geographic Society v. California Board of Equalization

430 U.S. 551 · Decided April 4, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

National Geographic Society v. California Board of Equalization was decided on April 4, 1977 unanimously (7–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “State or local government tax” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: Warren E. Burger, William H. Rehnquist.

Full case caption

National Geographic Society v. California Board of Equalization

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-080, docket 1976-080-01.

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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)

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• Raymond Motor Transportation, Inc. v. RiceLaw held unconstitutional
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• Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Inc. v. Cottrell
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Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

• Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax CommissionLaw held unconstitutional
  429 U.S. 318Decided January 12, 19779–0Byron R. White
• Brunswick Corp. v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat, Inc.
  429 U.S. 477Decided January 25, 19779–0Thurgood Marshall
• United States Steel Corp. v. Fortner Enterprises, Inc.
  429 U.S. 610Decided February 22, 19779–0John Paul Stevens
• Piper v. Chris-Craft Industries, Inc.
  430 U.S. 1Decided February 23, 19777–2Warren E. Burger
• E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Train
  430 U.S. 112Decided February 23, 19778–0John Paul Stevens
• City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey
  430 U.S. 141Decided February 23, 19775–4Per curiam

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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