California et al. v. Sierra Club et al.

Decided April 28, 1981. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-1252 · 451 U.S. 287 (1981) · Cited 687 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“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.

• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Willamette Iron Bridge Co. v. Hatch · 125 U.S. 1 (1888)
• Universities Research Assn., Inc. v. Coutu · 450 U.S. 754 (1981)
• Texas & Pacific Railway Co. v. Rigsby · 241 U.S. 33 (1916)
• Davis v. Passman · 442 U.S. 228 (1979)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad · 323 U.S. 192 (1944)
• Virginian Railway Co. v. System Federation No. 40 · 300 U.S. 515 (1937)
• Kissinger v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press · 445 U.S. 136 (1980)
• Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. v. Northwestern Public Service Co. · 341 U.S. 246 (1951)
• Board of Comm'rs of Jackson Cty. v. United States · 308 U.S. 343 (1939)
• Texas & NOR Co. v. Brotherhood of Ry. & Steamship Clerks · 281 U.S. 548 (1930)
• Deckert v. Independence Shares Corp. · 311 U.S. 282 (1940)
• Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. Florida Nursing Home Ass'n · 450 U.S. 147 (1981)
• Tunstall v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen · 323 U.S. 210 (1945)
• United States v. Republic Steel Corp. · 362 U.S. 482 (1960)
• State of Penn. v. THE WHEELING &C. BRIDGE CO. · 54 U.S. 518 (1852)
• United States v. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp. · 411 U.S. 655 (1973)
• United States v. Standard Oil Co. · 384 U.S. 224 (1966)

Cited by

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

• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Curran · 456 U.S. 353 (1982)
• Thompson v. Thompson · 484 U.S. 174 (1988)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Gonzaga University v. Doe · 536 U.S. 273 (2002)
• Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson Ex Rel. Thompson · 478 U.S. 804 (1986)
• United States v. Mitchell · 463 U.S. 206 (1983)
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools · 503 U.S. 60 (1992)
• Nixon v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
• Karahalios v. National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1263 · 489 U.S. 527 (1989)
• Daily Income Fund, Inc. v. Fox · 464 U.S. 523 (1984)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).