Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
461 U.S. 190 · Decided April 20, 1983 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission was decided on April 20, 1983 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White 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
- 461 U.S. 190 · 103 S. Ct. 1713 · 75 L. Ed. 2d 752 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 25
- Docket number
- 81-1945
- Decided
- April 20, 1983
- Argued
- January 17, 1983
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Atomic Energy Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. et al. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-067, docket 1982-067-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation”
- Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission
- North Dakota v. United States
- Philko Aviation, Inc. v. Shacket et Ux.
- Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.
- Aloha Airlines, Inc. v. Director of Taxation of Hawaii
- Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Association v. de La Cuesta
Cases on the same legal provision: Atomic Energy Act
- Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc.
- Huffman v. Western Nuclear, Inc.
- United States v. Boyd
- Power Reactor Development Co. v. International Union of Electrical
- Rosenberg v. United States
- Carson v. Roane-Anderson Company
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- California ex Rel. State Lands Commission v. United States
- North Dakota v. United States
- Local 926 v. Jones
- Block v. North Dakota ex Rel. Board of University and School Lands
- Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission
- Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
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