Southern Union Co. v. United States
567 U.S. 343 · Decided June 21, 2012 · 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
Southern Union Co. v. United States was decided on June 21, 2012 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 567 U.S. 343 · 132 S. Ct. 2344 · 183 L. Ed. 2d 318 · 2012 U.S. LEXIS 4662
- Docket number
- 11-94
- Decided
- June 21, 2012
- Argued
- March 19, 2012
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- 42-6928
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Southern Union Co. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 2011-069, docket 2011-069-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Statutory construction of criminal laws, sentencing guidelines”
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Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
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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