Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. v. State Board of Equalization of California

451 U.S. 648 · Decided May 26, 1981 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. v. State Board of Equalization of California was decided on May 26, 1981 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “State or local government tax” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. v. State Board of Equalization of California

SCDB identifiers: case 1980-096, docket 1980-096-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “State or local government tax”

• Maryland v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
  451 U.S. 725Decided May 26, 19817–1Byron R. White
• Commonwealth Edison Co. v. MontanaAltered precedent
  453 U.S. 609Decided July 2, 19816–3Thurgood Marshall
• United States v. New Mexico
  455 U.S. 720Decided March 24, 19829–0Harry A. Blackmun
• Exxon Corp. v. Department of Revenue of Wisconsin
  447 U.S. 207Decided June 10, 19808–0Thurgood Marshall
• Asarco Inc. v. Idaho State Tax CommissionLaw held unconstitutional
  458 U.S. 307Decided June 29, 19826–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Taxation and Revenue Department of New MexicoLaw held unconstitutional
  458 U.S. 354Decided June 29, 19826–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.

See all

Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 3 (interstate commerce clause)

• Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways Corporation of DelawareLaw held unconstitutional
  450 U.S. 662Decided March 24, 19816–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
  455 U.S. 130Decided January 25, 19826–3Thurgood Marshall
• New England Power Co. v. New HampshireLaw held unconstitutional
  455 U.S. 331Decided February 24, 19829–0Warren E. Burger
• Reeves, Inc. v. Stake
  447 U.S. 429Decided June 19, 19805–4Harry A. Blackmun
• Lewis v. Bt Investment Managers, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
  447 U.S. 27Decided June 9, 19809–0Harry A. Blackmun
• Edgar v. Mite Corp.Law held unconstitutional
  457 U.S. 624Decided June 23, 19826–3Byron R. White

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

• Environmental Protection Agency v. National Crushed Stone Association
  449 U.S. 64Decided December 2, 19808–0Byron R. White
• Potomac Electric Power Co. v. Director
  449 U.S. 268Decided December 15, 19808–1John Paul Stevens
• Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co.
  449 U.S. 456Decided January 21, 19817–1William J. Brennan Jr.
• Board of Governors of Federal Reserve System v. Investment Company Institute
  450 U.S. 46Decided February 24, 19816–0John Paul Stevens
• Steadman v. Securities and Exchange Commission
  450 U.S. 91Decided February 25, 19817–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• Diamond v. Diehr
  450 U.S. 175Decided March 3, 19815–4William H. Rehnquist

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