Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
489 U.S. 468 · Decided March 6, 1989 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University was decided on March 6, 1989 by a vote of 6–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist 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
- 489 U.S. 468 · 109 S. Ct. 1248 · 103 L. Ed. 2d 488 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 1273
- Docket number
- 87-1318
- Decided
- March 6, 1989
- Argued
- November 30, 1988
- 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
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 9 U.S.C. § 1
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Did not participate: Sandra Day O'Connor.
Full case caption
Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-047, docket 1988-047-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation”
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- California v. Arc America Corp.
- Mansell v. Mansell
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Felder v. Casey
- Mackey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc.
Cases on the same legal provision: 9 U.S.C. § 1
- Shearson/american Express Inc. v. McMahon
- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc.
- Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd
- Antonio Mastrobuono and Diana G. Mastrobuono v. Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc.
- First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Manuel Kaplan
- Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Saint Clair Adams
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Davis v. Michigan Department of the TreasuryLaw held unconstitutional
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Graham
- California v. Arc America Corp.
- Mansell v. Mansell
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