CaseTrail

United States v. California

447 U.S. 1 · Decided June 9, 1980 · 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

United States v. California was decided on June 9, 1980 unanimously (8–0). Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Submerged Lands Act” in the Federalism area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
447 U.S. 1 · 100 S. Ct. 1994 · 64 L. Ed. 2d 681 · 1980 U.S. LEXIS 43
Docket number
5 ORIG
Decided
June 9, 1980
Argued
March 17, 1980
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
8–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
Warren E. Burger
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Original jurisdiction
Issue area
Federalism
Legal provision
Submerged Lands Act
Type of law
Federal statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Majority
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajority
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Majority
Justice William H. RehnquistMajority
Justice John Paul StevensMajority

Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.

Full case caption

United States v. California

SCDB identifiers: case 1979-103, docket 1979-103-01.

Other cases on “Submerged Lands Act”

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Submerged Lands Act

Same Term, same area (Federalism)

See all

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