Douglas, Commissioner, Virginia Marine Resources Commission v. Seacoast Products, Inc., et al.

Decided May 23, 1977. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-1255 · 431 U.S. 265 (1977) · Cited 174 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.

• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Smith v. Maryland · 59 U.S. 71 (1855)
• Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit · 362 U.S. 440 (1960)
• Geer v. Connecticut · 161 U.S. 519 (1896)
• Manchester v. Massachusetts · 139 U.S. 240 (1891)
• Toomer v. Witsell · 334 U.S. 385 (1948)
• Jones v. Rath Packing Co. · 430 U.S. 519 (1977)
• Wickard v. Filburn · 317 U.S. 111 (1942)
• Takahashi v. Fish & Game Commission · 334 U.S. 410 (1948)
• McCready v. Virginia · 94 U.S. 391 (1877)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• H. P. Hood & Sons, Inc. v. Du Mond · 336 U.S. 525 (1949)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Hagans v. Lavine · 415 U.S. 528 (1974)
• Graham v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• Zwickler v. Koota · 389 U.S. 241 (1967)
• Snyder v. Harris · 394 U.S. 332 (1969)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• Perez v. United States · 402 U.S. 146 (1971)
• Kusper v. Pontikes · 414 U.S. 51 (1973)
• De Canas v. Bica · 424 U.S. 351 (1976)
• In Re Griffiths · 413 U.S. 717 (1973)
• Sugarman v. Dougall · 413 U.S. 634 (1973)
• Fusari v. Steinberg · 419 U.S. 379 (1975)
• United States v. California · 332 U.S. 19 (1947)
• Patsone v. Pennsylvania · 232 U.S. 138 (1914)
• Skiriotes v. Florida · 313 U.S. 69 (1941)
• United States v. Louisiana · 363 U.S. 1 (1960)

Cited by

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

• Baldwin v. Fish and Game Comm'n of Mont. · 436 U.S. 371 (1978)
• Hughes v. Oklahoma · 441 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co. · 435 U.S. 151 (1978)
• Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc. · 575 U.S. 320 (2015)
• City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey · 437 U.S. 617 (1978)
• Sporhase v. Nebraska Ex Rel. Douglas · 458 U.S. 941 (1982)

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).