Leo Sheep Co. et al. v. United States et al.
Decided March 27, 1979. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 77-1686 · 440 U.S. 668 (1979) · Cited 147 times
Holding
The Government does not have an implied easement to build a road across petitioners' land.
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 8–0.
Majority · 8
“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.
- Andrus v. Charlestone Stone Products Co. · 436 U.S. 604 (1978)
- Buford v. Houtz · 133 U.S. 320 (1890)
- Great Northern Railway Co. v. United States · 315 U.S. 262 (1942)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Jam v. International Finance Corp. · 586 U.S. 199 (2019)
- BedRoc Limited, LLC v. United States · 541 U.S. 176 (2004)
- Watt v. Western Nuclear, Inc. · 462 U.S. 36 (1983)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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William Hubbs Rehnquist’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). 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).