James B. Beam Distilling Co. v. Georgia et al.

Decided June 20, 1991. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-680 · 501 U.S. 529 (1991) · Cited 803 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

“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.

• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• American Trucking Assns., Inc. v. Smith · 496 U.S. 167 (1990)
• Griffith v. Kentucky · 479 U.S. 314 (1987)
• Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson · 404 U.S. 97 (1971)
• Capital Cities Cable, Inc. v. Crisp · 467 U.S. 691 (1984)
• Chicot County Drainage District v. Baxter State Bank · 308 U.S. 371 (1940)
• MacKey v. United States · 401 U.S. 667 (1971)
• Hostetter v. Idlewild Bon Voyage Liquor Corp. · 377 U.S. 324 (1964)
• United States v. Estate of Donnelly · 397 U.S. 286 (1970)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. · 458 U.S. 50 (1982)
• Linkletter v. Walker · 381 U.S. 618 (1965)
• Desist v. United States · 394 U.S. 244 (1969)
• England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners · 375 U.S. 411 (1964)
• California Retail Liquor Dealers Assn. v. Midcal Aluminum, Inc. · 445 U.S. 97 (1980)
• Cipriano v. City of Houma · 395 U.S. 701 (1969)
• McKesson Corp. v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Fla. Dept. of Business Regulation · 496 U.S. 18 (1990)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 411 U.S. 192 (1973)
• State Bd. of Equalization of Cal. v. Young's Market Co. · 299 U.S. 59 (1936)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Katz v. United States · 389 U.S. 347 (1967)
• Teague v. Lane · 489 U.S. 288 (1989)
• Stovall v. Denno · 388 U.S. 293 (1967)
• Escobedo v. Illinois · 378 U.S. 478 (1964)
• Johnson v. New Jersey · 384 U.S. 719 (1966)
• Federated Department Stores, Inc. v. Moitie · 452 U.S. 394 (1981)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Clemons v. Mississippi · 494 U.S. 738 (1990)
• Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury · 489 U.S. 803 (1989)
• United States v. Johnson · 457 U.S. 537 (1982)

Cited by

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

• Harper v. Virginia Department of Taxation · 509 U.S. 86 (1993)
• Reynoldsville Casket Co. v. Hyde · 514 U.S. 749 (1995)
• Danforth v. Minnesota · 552 U.S. 264 (2008)
• Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc. · 591 U.S. 610 (2020)
• Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)
• Granholm v. Heald · 544 U.S. 460 (2005)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Keene Corp. v. United States · 508 U.S. 200 (1993)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Allied-Signal, Inc. Ex Rel. Bendix Corp. v. Director, Division of Taxation · 504 U.S. 768 (1992)

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).