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United States v. Louisiana

446 U.S. 253 · Decided April 28, 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. Louisiana was decided on April 28, 1980 by a vote of 5–3. Justice Harry A. Blackmun 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
446 U.S. 253 · 100 S. Ct. 1618 · 64 L. Ed. 2d 196 · 1980 U.S. LEXIS 42
Docket number
9 ORIG
Decided
April 28, 1980
Argued
March 18, 1980
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
5–3
Majority opinion
Harry A. Blackmun
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Original jurisdiction
Issue area
Federalism
Legal provision
43 U.S.C. § 1336
Type of law
Infrequently litigated statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Majority
Justice Potter StewartDissent
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.DissentWrote an opinion
Justice William H. RehnquistDissent
Justice John Paul StevensMajority

Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.

Full case caption

United States v. Louisiana et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1979-079, docket 1979-079-01.

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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