Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc., et al. v. Puerto RICO Ex Rel. Barez, Secretary of Labor and Human Resources

Decided July 1, 1982. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 80-1305 · 458 U.S. 592 (1982) · Cited 590 times

Holding

Puerto Rico has parens patriae standing to maintain this suit.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Georgia v. Pennsylvania Railroad · 324 U.S. 439 (1945)
• Pennsylvania v. West Virginia · 262 U.S. 553 (1923)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman · 455 U.S. 363 (1982)
• Kansas v. Colorado · 185 U.S. 125 (1902)
• Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. · 429 U.S. 252 (1977)
• Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission · 432 U.S. 333 (1977)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood · 441 U.S. 91 (1979)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• Maryland v. Louisiana · 451 U.S. 725 (1981)
• Hawaii v. Standard Oil Co. of Cal. · 405 U.S. 251 (1972)
• Pennsylvania v. New Jersey · 426 U.S. 660 (1976)
• Wyoming v. Colorado · 259 U.S. 419 (1922)
• New York v. New Jersey · 256 U.S. 296 (1921)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency · 549 U.S. 497 (2007)
• Haaland v. Brackeen · 599 U.S. 255 (2023)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Diamond v. Charles · 476 U.S. 54 (1986)
• Maine v. Taylor · 477 U.S. 131 (1986)
• Heath v. Alabama · 474 U.S. 82 (1985)
• Biden v. Nebraska · 600 U.S. 477 (2023)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1982). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).