Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, et al. v. Citizens for the Abatement of Aircraft Noise, Inc., et al.

Decided June 17, 1991. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-906 · 501 U.S. 252 (1991) · Cited 244 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 6–3.

“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.

• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• South Dakota v. Dole · 483 U.S. 203 (1987)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Springer v. Government of Philippine Islands · 277 U.S. 189 (1928)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building & Construction Trades Council · 485 U.S. 568 (1988)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Steward MacHine Co. v. Davis · 301 U.S. 548 (1937)
• Murray v. Schooner Charming Betsy · 6 U.S. 64 (1804)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• Michigan v. Chesternut · 486 U.S. 567 (1988)
• Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Wetzel · 424 U.S. 737 (1976)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• J. W. Hampton, Jr., & Co. v. United States · 276 U.S. 394 (1928)
• American Tobacco Co. v. Patterson · 456 U.S. 63 (1982)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Piper v. Chris-Craft Industries, Inc. · 430 U.S. 1 (1977)
• Hooper v. California · 155 U.S. 648 (1895)
• Dennis v. Higgins · 498 U.S. 439 (1991)
• Lau v. Nichols · 414 U.S. 563 (1974)
• District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. · 346 U.S. 100 (1953)
• Lawrence County v. Lead-Deadwood School District No. 40-1 · 469 U.S. 256 (1985)
• Hepburn & Dundas v. Ellzey · 6 U.S. 445 (1805)

Cited by

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

• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC · 590 U.S. 448 (2020)
• Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads · 575 U.S. 43 (2015)
• Utah v. Evans · 536 U.S. 452 (2002)
• Bank Markazi v. Peterson · 578 U.S. 212 (2016)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Clinton v. City of New York · 524 U.S. 417 (1998)
• Wellness Int'l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif · 575 U.S. 665 (2015)
• United States v. Arthrex, Inc. · 594 U.S. 1 (2021)

Official text

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

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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).