Food and Drug Administration, et al. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, et al.

Decided March 21, 2000. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-1152 · 529 U.S. 120 (2000) · Cited 1,963 times

Holding

Reading the FDCA as a whole, as well as in conjunction with Congress’ subsequent tobacco-specific legislation, it is plain that Congress has not given the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products as customarily marketed.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• United States v. Article of Drug . . . Bacto-Unidisk · 394 U.S. 784 (1969)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• United States v. Estate of Romani · 523 U.S. 517 (1998)
• Permian Basin Area Rate Cases · 390 U.S. 747 (1968)
• United States v. Fausto · 484 U.S. 439 (1988)
• Bob Jones University v. United States · 461 U.S. 574 (1983)
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation v. LTV Corp. · 496 U.S. 633 (1990)
• Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), N. A. · 517 U.S. 735 (1996)
• MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co. · 512 U.S. 218 (1994)
• United States v. Southwestern Cable Co. · 392 U.S. 157 (1968)
• United States v. Rutherford · 442 U.S. 544 (1979)
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Auer v. Robbins · 519 U.S. 452 (1997)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Rust v. Sullivan · 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
• Gustafson v. Alloyd Co. · 513 U.S. 561 (1995)
• Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury · 489 U.S. 803 (1989)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Aguirre-Aguirre · 526 U.S. 415 (1999)
• Brown v. Gardner · 513 U.S. 115 (1994)
• Sullivan v. Finkelstein · 496 U.S. 617 (1990)
• Kent v. Dulles · 357 U.S. 116 (1958)
• Haynes v. United States · 390 U.S. 85 (1968)
• United States v. Price · 361 U.S. 304 (1960)
• Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara Cty. · 480 U.S. 616 (1987)
• Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin · 347 U.S. 672 (1954)
• Gray v. Powell · 314 U.S. 402 (1941)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Mandel Bros. · 359 U.S. 385 (1959)
• Holly Farms Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 517 U.S. 392 (1996)

Cited by

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

• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
• Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency · 549 U.S. 497 (2007)
• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• King v. Burwell · 576 U.S. 473 (2015)
• Biden v. Nebraska · 600 U.S. 477 (2023)
• National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife · 551 U.S. 644 (2007)
• Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. · 552 U.S. 148 (2008)
• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Gundy v. United States · 588 U.S. 128 (2019)
• Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Ass'n · 552 U.S. 364 (2008)
• Mellouli v. Lynch · 575 U.S. 798 (2015)
• Puerto Rico v. Franklin California Tax-Free Trust · 579 U.S. 115 (2016)
• Zuni Public School District No. 89 v. Department of Education · 550 U.S. 81 (2007)
• County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund · 590 U.S. 165 (2020)
• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC · 604 U.S. 542 (2025)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Corley v. United States · 556 U.S. 303 (2009)
• Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. · 535 U.S. 81 (2002)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Graham County Soil & Water Conservation District v. United States Ex Rel. Wilson · 559 U.S. 280 (2010)
• Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co. · 537 U.S. 149 (2003)
• Carcieri v. Salazar · 555 U.S. 379 (2009)
• Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
• BP America Production Co. Ex Rel. Amoco Production Co. v. Burton · 549 U.S. 84 (2006)
• Biden v. Texas · 597 U.S. 785 (2022)
• Alabama Assn. of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Servs. · 594 U.S. 758 (2021)
• Sackett v. EPA · 598 U.S. 651 (2023)
• Gallardo v. Marstiller · 596 U.S. 420 (2022)
• City and County of San Francisco v. EPA · 604 U.S. 334 (2025)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Sandra Day O'Connor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). 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).