Kleppe, Secretary of the Interior v. New Mexico et al.

Decided June 17, 1976. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-1488 · 426 U.S. 529 (1976) · Cited 342 times

Holding

As applied to this case, the Act is a constitutional exercise of congressional power under the Property Clause of the Constitution, which provides that "Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States." Art.

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.

• United States v. City & County of San Francisco · 310 U.S. 16 (1940)
• Geer v. Connecticut · 161 U.S. 519 (1896)
• Paul v. United States · 371 U.S. 245 (1963)
• Toomer v. Witsell · 334 U.S. 385 (1948)
• Utah Power & Light Co. v. United States · 243 U.S. 389 (1917)
• Fort Leavenworth Railroad v. Lowe · 114 U.S. 525 (1885)
• Collins v. Yosemite Park & Curry Co. · 304 U.S. 518 (1938)
• Colorado v. Toll · 268 U.S. 228 (1925)
• James v. Dravo Contracting Co. · 302 U.S. 134 (1937)
• Sinclair v. United States · 279 U.S. 263 (1929)
• United States v. California · 332 U.S. 19 (1947)
• Eccles v. Peoples Bank of Lakewood Village · 333 U.S. 426 (1948)
• Public Affairs Associates, Inc. v. Rickover · 369 U.S. 111 (1962)
• Clark v. Paul Gray, Inc. · 306 U.S. 583 (1939)
• Balzac v. Porto Rico · 258 U.S. 298 (1922)
• Dorr v. United States · 195 U.S. 138 (1904)
• McKelvey v. United States · 260 U.S. 353 (1922)
• Ivanhoe Irrigation District v. McCracken · 357 U.S. 275 (1958)
• Surplus Trading Co. v. Cook · 281 U.S. 647 (1930)
• Federal Power Commission v. Idaho Power Co. · 344 U.S. 17 (1952)
• International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union, Local 37 v. Boyd · 347 U.S. 222 (1954)
• Hooven & Allison Co. v. Evatt · 324 U.S. 652 (1945)
• Silas Mason Co. v. Tax Commission of Washington · 302 U.S. 186 (1937)
• Vermilya-Brown Co. v. Connell · 335 U.S. 377 (1948)
• Lacoste v. Department of Conservation of Louisiana · 263 U.S. 545 (1924)

Cited by

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

• California Coastal Commission v. Granite Rock Co. · 480 U.S. 572 (1987)
• Hughes v. Oklahoma · 441 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Baldwin v. Fish and Game Comm'n of Mont. · 436 U.S. 371 (1978)
• H. L. v. Matheson · 450 U.S. 398 (1981)
• Sturgeon v. Frost · 587 U.S. 28 (2019)
• Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling · 584 U.S. 709 (2018)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians · 526 U.S. 172 (1999)
• North Dakota v. United States · 460 U.S. 300 (1983)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1976). 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).