Jay Printz, Sheriff/coroner, Ravalli County, Montana v. United States

Decided June 27, 1997. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-1478 · 521 U.S. 898 (1997) · Cited 937 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 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.

• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Mississippi · 456 U.S. 742 (1982)
• Testa v. Katt · 330 U.S. 386 (1947)
• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority · 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• United States v. Jones · 109 U.S. 513 (1883)
• Puerto Rico v. Branstad · 483 U.S. 219 (1987)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• National League of Cities v. Usery · 426 U.S. 833 (1976)
• Second Employers'liability Cases · 223 U.S. 1 (1912)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• United States v. Miller · 307 U.S. 174 (1939)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• South Dakota v. Dole · 483 U.S. 203 (1987)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Forrester v. White · 484 U.S. 219 (1988)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath · 341 U.S. 123 (1951)
• Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
• A. L. A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States · 295 U.S. 495 (1935)
• U.S. Bancorp Mortgage Co. v. Bonner Mall Partnership · 513 U.S. 18 (1994)
• Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan · 293 U.S. 388 (1935)
• Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 440 U.S. 391 (1979)
• Edgar v. Mite Corp. · 457 U.S. 624 (1982)

Cited by

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

• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Haaland v. Brackeen · 599 U.S. 255 (2023)
• Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. · 584 U.S. 453 (2018)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• At&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board · 525 U.S. 366 (1999)
• Reno v. Condon · 528 U.S. 141 (2000)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Gonzales v. Raich · 545 U.S. 1 (2005)
• Bond v. United States · 572 U.S. 844 (2014)
• United States v. Comstock · 560 U.S. 126 (2010)
• Branch v. Smith · 538 U.S. 254 (2003)
• Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion Cty. v. Talevski · 599 U.S. 166 (2023)
• Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · 591 U.S. 197 (2020)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority · 535 U.S. 743 (2002)
• Shinn v. Martinez Ramirez · 596 U.S. 366 (2022)
• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)
• Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan · 564 U.S. 117 (2011)
• New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen · 597 U.S. 1 (2022)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
• Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey · 524 U.S. 206 (1998)
• Carpenter v. United States · 585 U.S. 296 (2018)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Olmstead v. L.C. · 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
• Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel · 524 U.S. 498 (1998)
• United States v. Rahimi · 602 U.S. 680 (2024)
• Department of Commerce v. United States House of Representatives · 525 U.S. 316 (1999)
• Eldred v. Ashcroft · 537 U.S. 186 (2003)
• United States v. Texas · 599 U.S. 670 (2023)
• Utah v. Evans · 536 U.S. 452 (2002)

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).