Hodel, Acting Secretary of the Interior v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Association, Inc., et al.

Decided June 15, 1981. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-1538 · 452 U.S. 264 (1981) · Cited 1,400 times

Holding

In the context of a facial challenge, the Act is constitutional.

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 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.

• National League of Cities v. Usery · 426 U.S. 833 (1976)
• United States v. Darby · 312 U.S. 100 (1941)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. · 301 U.S. 1 (1937)
• Wickard v. Filburn · 317 U.S. 111 (1942)
• Agins v. City of Tiburon · 447 U.S. 255 (1980)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• Katzenbach v. McClung · 379 U.S. 294 (1964)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Perez v. United States · 402 U.S. 146 (1971)
• United States v. Wrightwood Dairy Co. · 315 U.S. 110 (1942)
• Fry v. United States · 421 U.S. 542 (1975)
• Boddie v. Connecticut · 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
• Yakus v. United States · 321 U.S. 414 (1944)
• Kaiser Aetna v. United States · 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
• MacKey v. Montrym · 443 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Houston, East & West Texas Railway Co. v. United States · 234 U.S. 342 (1914)
• Ewing v. Mytinger & Casselberry, Inc. · 339 U.S. 594 (1950)
• Fahey v. Mallonee · 332 U.S. 245 (1947)
• Cleveland v. United States · 329 U.S. 14 (1946)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City · 438 U.S. 104 (1978)
• Kirby v. Illinois · 406 U.S. 682 (1972)
• Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. · 272 U.S. 365 (1926)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 435 U.S. 519 (1978)
• Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon · 260 U.S. 393 (1922)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• Larson v. Domestic and Foreign Commerce Corp. · 337 U.S. 682 (1949)

Cited by

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

• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming · 460 U.S. 226 (1983)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority · 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
• United States v. Morrison · 529 U.S. 598 (2000)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Mississippi · 456 U.S. 742 (1982)
• Suitum v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 520 U.S. 725 (1997)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Pennell v. City of San Jose · 485 U.S. 1 (1988)
• Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. · 584 U.S. 453 (2018)
• Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City · 473 U.S. 172 (1985)
• Gonzales v. Raich · 545 U.S. 1 (2005)
• Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States Army Corps of Engineers · 531 U.S. 159 (2001)
• United States v. Comstock · 560 U.S. 126 (2010)
• Murr v. Wisconsin · 582 U.S. 383 (2017)
• United Transportation Union v. Long Island Rail Road · 455 U.S. 678 (1982)
• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council · 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
• First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles · 482 U.S. 304 (1987)
• Keystone Bituminous Coal Assn. v. DeBenedictis · 480 U.S. 470 (1987)
• City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
• South Carolina v. Regan · 465 U.S. 367 (1984)
• Sporhase v. Nebraska Ex Rel. Douglas · 458 U.S. 941 (1982)
• Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co. · 467 U.S. 986 (1984)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Dolan v. City of Tigard · 512 U.S. 374 (1994)
• Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 v. Hyde · 466 U.S. 2 (1984)
• Connolly v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation · 475 U.S. 211 (1986)
• Preseault v. Interstate Commerce Commission · 494 U.S. 1 (1990)
• MacDonald, Sommer & Frates v. Yolo County · 477 U.S. 340 (1986)
• Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation v. Environmental Protection Agency · 540 U.S. 461 (2004)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1981). 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).