Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Mississippi
484 U.S. 469 · Decided February 23, 1988 · 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
Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Mississippi was decided on February 23, 1988 by a vote of 5–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miscellaneous” in the Miscellaneous area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 484 U.S. 469 · 108 S. Ct. 791 · 98 L. Ed. 2d 877 · 1988 U.S. LEXIS 939
- Docket number
- 86-870
- Decided
- February 23, 1988
- Argued
- November 9, 1987
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Miscellaneous
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Unspecifiable 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 | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent |
Did not participate: Anthony M. Kennedy.
Full case caption
Phillips Petroleum Co. et al. v. Mississippi et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1987-028, docket 1987-028-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Miscellaneous”
- Morrison v. Olson
- Mistretta v. United States
- United States v. Stuart
- Bowsher v. SynarLaw held unconstitutional
- Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority v. Citizens for the Abatement of Aircraft Noise, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Thomas Freytag v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Same Term, same area (Miscellaneous)
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