Williams v. Vermont

472 U.S. 14 · Decided June 4, 1985 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Williams v. Vermont was decided on June 4, 1985 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “State or local government tax” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

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

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: Lewis F. Powell Jr..

Full case caption

Williams et al. v. Vermont et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1984-114, docket 1984-114-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “State or local government tax”

• Kenneth Cory v. Western Oil and Gas Association
  471 U.S. 81Decided March 27, 19854–4
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. WardLaw held unconstitutional
  470 U.S. 869Decided March 26, 19855–4Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• First National Bank of Atlanta v. Bartow County Board of Tax Assessors
  470 U.S. 583Decided March 19, 19859–0Harry A. Blackmun
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. DiasLaw held unconstitutional
  468 U.S. 263Decided June 29, 19845–3Byron R. White
• Armco Inc. v. HardestyLaw held unconstitutional
  467 U.S. 638Decided June 12, 19848–1Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Westinghouse Electric Corp. v. TullyLaw held unconstitutional
  466 U.S. 388Decided April 24, 19849–0Harry A. Blackmun

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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)

• Hooper v. Bernalillo County AssessorLaw held unconstitutional
  472 U.S. 612Decided June 24, 19855–3Warren E. Burger
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
  473 U.S. 432Decided July 1, 19859–0Byron R. White
• Hunter v. UnderwoodLaw held unconstitutional
  471 U.S. 222Decided April 16, 19858–0William H. Rehnquist
• Batson v. KentuckyAltered precedent
  476 U.S. 79Decided April 30, 19867–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education
  476 U.S. 267Decided May 19, 19865–4Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Bernal v. FainterLaw held unconstitutional
  467 U.S. 216Decided May 30, 19848–1Thurgood Marshall

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

• Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder
  469 U.S. 153Decided January 8, 19855–4John Paul Stevens
• Park 'n Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park and Fly, Inc.
  469 U.S. 189Decided January 8, 19858–1Sandra Day O'Connor
• Ohio v. Kovacs
  469 U.S. 274Decided January 9, 19859–0Byron R. White
• Chemical Manufacturers Association v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
  470 U.S. 116Decided February 27, 19855–4Byron R. White
• Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd
  470 U.S. 213Decided March 4, 19859–0Thurgood Marshall
• Air France v. Saks
  470 U.S. 392Decided March 4, 19858–0Sandra Day O'Connor

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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