West Virginia v. United States
479 U.S. 305 · Decided January 13, 1987 · 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
West Virginia v. United States was decided on January 13, 1987 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Miscellaneous federalism” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 479 U.S. 305 · 107 S. Ct. 702 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 639 · 1987 U.S. LEXIS 282
- Docket number
- 85-937
- Decided
- January 13, 1987
- Argued
- November 10, 1986
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Miscellaneous federalism
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority |
Full case caption
West Virginia v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1986-017, docket 1986-017-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Miscellaneous federalism”
- Bennett v. New Jersey
- Bennett v. Kentucky Department of Education
- Rudy Perpich v. Department of Defense
- Bell v. New Jersey
- Watt v. Alaska
- United States v. Texas
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Rose v. Arkansas State PoliceLaw held unconstitutional
- International Paper Co. v. Ouellette
- Pilot Life Insurance Co. v. Dedeaux
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Taylor
- Rose v. Rose
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Hechler
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